Friends?
by USMCcAnthem
Summary: 'A hand came into my view and I looked into the eyes I hated. "Take it," Mikoshiba demanded, "So you can show me that today wasn't a fluke." I grabbed his arm and glared. "Don't worry," I promised, "Today wasn't a fluke."' A tale of friendship, and maybe love, between two unlikely people. Warnings: OC-centric, adult language, possible yaoi side-pairings and slow updates.
1. Chapter 1

**1. Introduction**

When I was five my dad was offered a job overseas. Asking my parents about it later – when I was much older and able to see beyond myself – they told me that they had been suffering financially and the offer had come at the perfect time. So disregarding that my dad was the only person able to speak the language, we'd packed up our basement suite and flew to Japan. At five the new language, architecture, and people mesmerized me; Tokyo was like a whole other world. Learning a language over again was painful and fraught with tears and temper tantrums, but I can't say that it wasn't necessary as I soon started school.

Years flew by, and I was at first ostracized for my name and height (for I stood a head taller than most of my classmates), I eventually gained lasting friendships. I joined the schools swim team, badminton team and student council, and continued with it all as I shifted to middle school. My parents and I stayed in Tokyo until I turned twelve, when my dad was moved back to our hometown where he could work on company relations in Canada.

Changing schools was tough at first. I knew no one and most of the other students had gone to the same elementary school together. And, for the most part, I was entering high school two years earlier than I would have if I had been in Tokyo. But I – somehow – made new friends, all of who were 'fascinated' with Japan. I was classified as the go to girl to learn about Japan and anime. They'd ask me to speak in Japanese and bow and everything that they could connect to Japan because they were obsessed. It was different from what I was used to, but I treasured the friends I did make and eventually joined a swim club outside of school and gained more friends there (who didn't demand I speak Japanese every second sentence). It worked.

Then my dad was transferred back to Japan.

My mom by then was tired of moving back and forth. In her opinion, everybody should have a singular home base. She was basically a country bumpkin, so when my dad suggested moving back to Tokyo, she nixed the idea right away. She "wasn't going to live in another busy, bustling city," and demanded that we move to a town close enough to the city that he wouldn't have to commute too much (and living in Canada, that means around three hours either way). Surprisingly, my dad agreed.

And then we moved to Iwatobi, the perfect town, nestled perfectly between my dad's new office and my mom's job at a nearby private, all boys high school.

When I first saw the town, I was once again mesmerized. It was beautiful and small, with such charm you can't help but fall in love… And so I did. I fell in love with the town and was seen meandering the beach and streets more often than I could be found at home. I mapped out the entire town before the new school year started, wrapped up in my comfortable coat and scarf, but enjoying it nonetheless. By the time the school year started, I could honestly say that I knew the town as well as one who'd lived there all their life.

School itself was different. I didn't have the same reaction I did the last two times I changed schools. My confidence was higher, much higher, from having friends who found me fascinating and so much more, that I didn't stutter when the sensei called my name, correcting her to call me Takashi. I didn't blush at the incredulous stares my choice of name got (it was masculine, but I liked it because of Digimon, and wasn't about to change it for societies opinion) nor did I avert my eyes when one girl laughed at me, causing a chain reaction among my classmates. Instead I looked at the only two who didn't laugh and smiled. I learned that they had girly names – Makoto and Haruka – so they were in no place to laugh at me. The two were close, and I knew from past experience that trying to join them was an exercise in futility, as close friends like that are filled with inside jokes, wordless speech and gestures, and a history so long that I'd always be left out.

Not much happened in school after that. I had no friends, for I was – again – too tall at 5'10, too Caucasian, too Canadian: just too different for them. I stood out, and this time they weren't used to seeing the different nationalities (many had never seen an Indian or African person, it was so odd to me) like they do in the city. I didn't care, but it did stop me from joining the badminton team, and the student council. There was no swim team, so I was barred from that.

Instead I went to Samezuka Gakuen, where my mom worked. She was one of the teachers – English, to be more precise – and one benefit to being a member of staff was that their family was able to use the faculties. Without the chance to swim at my own school, I would take the train after school and practice there. It was during my third time going to the school that I was able to meet the Samezuka swim club. Almost all the males were in shape (something that wasn't quite so common in Canada, for sure), I was able to notice immediately. However, before I could think of anything else, I was spotted. Wearing my own bathing suit – a simple black one piece with red stripes curving down the sides of my torso – with a cap and goggles hanging from my hip, it was obvious what I wanted to do.

"Do you want to join the club?" The captain, a dark haired, dark eyed teen who stood at the same height as myself, had asked almost immediately.

"I can do that?" I'd demanded; I wanted to be on a club again so bad that it didn't matter that it was stock full of testosterone.

The answer was a simple "yes", and the next thing they knew, Samezuka had its first female member. While I would never be able to go to meets, being apart of the practice was all that mattered to me. I was a part of a team, and I cried with them, swam with them, laughed with them and it made it worth it.

My first year at school was lonely, but my time after was full of friends and laughter, so it didn't matter.

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><p><em>To Be Continued...<em>

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><p><strong>AN:**

So, I'm _kind of_ back from my hiatus, but not really. This is a story that I'm doing for fun and nothing else. Updates with be far and few between, but they will happen sometime. But for those who are wondering what the point of this is, well, its mostly because I believe that Seijuurou doesn't get enough love. He is my favourite character - behind Makoto, who I can't help but love - so I decided to give him an OC to love.

I have no beta for this, so please excuse any mistakes.

¡Hasta Luego!

USMCcAnthem


	2. Chapter 2

**2. The First Time**

Meeting my best friend had been a rather embarrassing experience.

I was on a casual level with most of the team, but I had no close friends. I tended to joke with the boys I swam with, like I had back in Canada, having always been more comfortable around boys than girls. Yet I didn't know much about them besides what they found entertaining. It didn't bother me too much, as just having someone to interact with on a daily basis was enough for me. It was during such a time, when I was cracking jokes with a couple of the first years I usually swam with, that I did something mentally scarring (and secretly pleasing).

I walked into the boys change room… when they were all changing. And then walked right into a naked body. I'd fallen to the floor in shock and, stupidly, looked up. I was given my first good look at male genitalia and nearly fainted in shock. Thankfully hands were soon blocking my view and I was able to tear my eyes away from such a sight to look up at a pair of amused and marginally embarrassed golden eyes. By then I'd gotten my bearings and had covered my face with my hands, laying back on the ground without the support and just shaken my head.

"I didn't see that," I'd muttered into the eerie silence that echoed through the usually boisterous changing room. "This is all just a dream, and never happened."

Then a barking laugh came from above me (very close to my face actually), and I'd peaked through my fingers to see those golden eyes dancing right above mine. Too stupefied to do more than blink, I'd just stared up at him as he laughed. "It's nice to know," he'd said once his laughter had calmed down, "that you find me dream worthy." He'd then patted my head, heedless of my squawking and stood up in all his naked glory. "Well it's nice to finally meet you Takashi-kun," he's said as I covered my bright red face again. "I'm Mikoshiba Seijuurou."

"Bastard," I'd muttered under my breath and he'd laughed once more as he walked away to his locker. I'd eventually been helped by my first year buddies out of the locker room and back into the pool where I'd jumped into the pool to cool down my over heated body. I'd learned that I hated Mikoshiba more than anyone I'd ever hated before…

And that yes, the carpets do match the drapes.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	3. Chapter 3

**3. Learning my Limits**

Mikoshiba had taken to swimming with me after that. While I wasn't a bad swimmer, I couldn't compete with him. I was all technique, strength and distance, where he was all three plus speed and innate talent. Every time he would lap me for a set, I would grow to hate him even more. My self-confidence stuttered, and soon I was only hold up a façade of passivity when at school as their taunts about my height, name and foreigner status grew worse and worse. I despised him for causing it, and was furious at myself for letting it happen.

So one day, when we started the set, I had enough of it. Instead of the normal pace I went at, I pushed myself past my usual limits to keep up with Mikoshiba. I ignored the screaming of my muscles and the way air burned in my lungs as I followed after him for set after set, until practice finished. When the captain called the end of practice, I tried to haul myself out of the pool, but failed every single attempt. Tears had gathered in my eyes and I'd flung my goggles and cap into the water like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"I'm so weak," I said to myself. "So stupid, so slow." At the time, I'd felt like quitting and never leaving my room ever again. The beautiful town I lived in, the gorgeous pool I swam in: they'd turned into hell for me.

A hand, tan and calloused, then came into my view. My eyes had tracked up the arm to a face I hated, with golden eyes staring down at me seriously. "Take it," Mikoshiba demanded. "Take it so you can show me that today wasn't a fluke. I want to swim with you again, and I want to do it when you're at your best, not when you barely try." I'd then clasped his arm, anger taking the place of depression and glared at him.

"Don't worry," I promised, "Today wasn't a fluke."

The next day I was sore, but my muscles were loose from the long stretching session I'd done before going to bed. School hadn't been as bad, for I was too tired to bother with the idiots in my class and I'd been able to take a short nap on the train. So, with a renewed determination to rub my ability in Mikoshiba's face, I'd gone to him, instead of him coming to my lane and smirked at him. He'd returned the look and slicked back his bright red hair into his cap.

"Ready to show me what you can do?" He'd taunted.

I nodded and tightened my goggles on my face. "Of course old man, don't let my wake slow you down."

"Never little girl."

We'd then stared each other down and dived into together, ignoring the exasperated sounds of the captain and the rest of the team. Mostly because we couldn't hear them, already swimming side by side on our regular practice routine. We pushed each other to do better, I'd beat him on the turn (having a better butterfly kick) and he'd force me to push harder as his longer, more powerful strokes met and beat the lead I gained off the wall.

When practice finished, we'd realized that we'd taken a whole lane to ourselves, and I'd gone to apologize to the captain, only to have him shake his head at me. "Don't worry Takashi-chan," he'd said with a grin. "As long as you two keep swimming like that, you can take a lane all to yourselves."

Mikoshiba had then had the _gall_ to laugh at me for apologizing. "Yeah _Takashi-chan_," he'd mocked me when I'd glared at him. "Don't worry so much; you've just been sucked into my charisma."

"Nah," I'd immediately denied, "just your body. Your abs look pretty lickable when I pass you on the turn." Then I'd gone into the change room (the separate area that was given to me) feeling bewildered. Since when did I say such blatant sexual innuendos?

Then I heard, "If they're that lickable, you have permission to go down on me anytime you want!" And suddenly felt like strangling someone.

Of course, my mouth ran away from me and yelled, "Only if you return the favour!"

The choking sound I heard was music to my ears.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>


	4. Chapter 4

**4. Your Smile**

"Mom?" I called into the classroom. Today had ended early, with some sort of festival thing happening at the school that I was uninterested in attending, and it was much too early for practice. However, I hadn't wanted to stay home alone – I'd gotten used to be by myself, but I still didn't like it – so I'd hopped on the first train to Samezuka. I looked around and blinked when I met golden eyes (he claimed they were amber, but I said they were gold to make up for all the gold metals he'll never win). "What are you doing here Mikoshiba?"

"Considering I go to school here, I'm sure that's supposed to be my line," Seijuurou countered, a taunting grin on his face. "I'm waiting for Sumisu-sensei." I mentally hit my head at the total bastardization of my last name. It's Smith, not Sumisu. And my mom taught _English_, so you'd think they'd learn to get it right. "Now, what are you doing here Takashi-_chan_?"

I sighed in annoyance, but answered him. "I'm here because I thought my mom, yes your sensei is my mom, would like to talk before I have to head to swim practice." I leant against the wall and folded my arms over my chest. The red bow I needed to wear at school was undone and hanging from my neck, while my school jacket swung from my fingers, now kept in place by my bent elbow.

Seijuurou laughed at me, and I felt the need to strangle him again. Taunting him with sexual innuendos no longer worked to that effect, as he seemed to get back into the swing of things, always one-upping me. (I personally thought that he had them on standby, so he could use them at the earliest convenience.) "What's so funny?" I demanded.

He just shook his head and let his laughter dwindle down until he stared at me. It was an assessing stare, one I'd never been on the receiving end by him, and thus I quickly became uncomfortable. After a few seconds (that felt like hours), he grinned. "So…" He drawled the word out as he pushed off from the desk he was leaning on to stalk toward me. "If your mom teaches English, does that mean you're good at it too?" My face must've expressed my incredulity, as he backtracked, "It's only a question, you don't have to answer if you don't want to?"

"Mikoshiba," my voice was slow, as if talking to a child, "I just moved here from _Canada_. They speak _English_ primarily in Canada. So yes, I do speak English."

There was a flash of annoyance that went through his golden eyes, but was replaced with his signature grin before I could look into it. "I didn't know you had transferred from Canada, so don't get on my case." He shook his head while I just blinked in confusion and something else I couldn't identify; I'd thought that everybody knew where I used to live. Well, at least I know the saying about assuming is true. "Whatever, I just need to ask you a question about one thing then." He opened the binder he had cradled in his large hands and flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. "I've been having troubles pronouncing this word, and Sumisu-sensei said it too quickly in class. Could you repeat it for me?"

I felt the need to trick him by saying something dirty, like a swear word, but my chest twisted the moment the thought came to mind. So instead of doing that, I decided to actually help him. I said the word to him slowly, breaking it down, and then repeating it at normal speed before asking him to do the same. It took a while before he was able to repeat it perfectly, but once he did, he smiled at me. Smiled, not grinned and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Ah, Mikoshiba-kun, musume*, what are you doing here together?" My mom asked, before a mischievous smile I knew too well curled up her lips. "Not having a secret rendezvous in my classroom, are you?

"Mom!" "Sumisu-sensei!" The two of us cried in shock, and a blush spread across my cheeks.

"Well, you can't blame me for asking," she motioned to my school jacket that had fallen to the floor at some point, and how Mikoshiba had his school jacket open with his black undershirt rumpled from where he had scratched his stomach during his attempts to say the word properly.

…And I really shouldn't have looked for these tells, as my face just grew hotter than before. "You're so embarrassing," I couldn't help but whine, covering my face with my hands when Mikoshiba finally joined my mom in laughing. I was suddenly certain that the world was out to get me. "You know what, I'm just going to go to the pool and forget this ever happened."

"And that this is all a dream, right?" Mikoshiba added on slyly, making my eyes narrow at him in annoyance. Oh, he was so good at ticking me off. My temper was like an on-off switch to him, while everything else took ages to get me riled.

"Don't even start," I snapped back as I grabbed my jacket from the ground and gave my mom a hug. "See you later mom." Stalking out of the classroom, I made my way through the halls, aware that I was being followed. I looked at him from the corner of my eye but said nothing so as to not make a fool of myself… again.

"Hey Takashi-kun," Mikoshiba said after a while. We had already exited the main school building, and were now on the grounds between the dorms and the pool. I looked at him in question, the odd twisting in my chest happening again when he smiled at me. "Thanks for helping me with my English."

"No problem." I smirked, trying to bring back the normal competitive atmosphere we usually held between us. "Just so long as you don't act all soft during practice."

"Don't worry Takashi-_chan_," he grinned, gold eyes gleaming. "I would never think of being anything but _hard_ around you."

"Horny bastard," I muttered under my breath as he strode off to his dorm and I turned to head towards the pool. "But I did leave that one wide open for interpretation." Instead of fuming like I usually would, I found myself bearing a grin on my face, anticipating when we would next trade insults.

I also couldn't help but think he looked nice when he smiled.

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><p>* musume: daughter<p>

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	5. Chapter 5

**5. Oh, How I Adore Thee**

"Sumisu-chan, please join Tachibana-kun and Nanase-kun," my geography sensei motioned for me to go to the opposite corner where the two boys with girly names sat. "You are the only one not in a group and they have room for one more." There was the requisite hushed laughter from my peers as I stood from my seat and took the desk in front of Nanase, right next to the window, and turned around to face them. I nodded congenially, and got a responding stare and soft smile in return. We listened to the teacher outline the project she wished for us to complete and I sighed as I looked at my notes. While the class wasn't hard, I was never very good at group work and I was joined up with people who were practically joined at the hip.

"So which country do you want to do?" Tachibana asked as he stared at Nanase, not really glancing in my direction. Though he was too nice to say it, I can tell he felt awkward having me in their group.

"Umm… Can we do Canada?" I asked tentatively, ignoring how intimidating Nanase's stare was. "Canada is the second largest country by landmass in the world, has a population comparable to that of the Greater Tokyo area, the largest coastline area in the world and holds more fresh water than any other country." I rattled off all these facts off of memory, having always found my home country fascinating, a fact that had been greatly exploited by my Socials teachers back in Canada.

Something I said seemed to have clicked with Nanase, as the dark haired boy immediately turned to his green eyed friend with wide eyes (or at least his eyes were wider than usual). Makoto chuckled softly, and I felt warmth flood my cheeks at the sound. It was just so… I don't know how to explain it, but I really liked hearing it. "Okay Haru-chan, we'll do Canada."

Nanase immediately turned away to look out the window with a frown on his face, "Cut it with the –chan," he muttered under his breath, and I had to resist the urge to laugh at the guy. It was like a pout for the antisocial.

"Say Sumisu-san, how do you know so much about Canada?" Again I was surprised that he didn't know where I came from. Really, I should probably know better by now.

"Just call me Takashi," I chided him with a small grin, ignoring how my hands shook when he focused all his attention on me. "And I know so much about Canada because I used to live there before moving here."

"Really?" Makoto smiled with a gentle tilt of his head, his olive hair playing across his face as he did so, "I didn't know that. Did you Haru?" Nanase shook his head minutely as he turned back to staring at me, his inky gaze every bit as intimidating as it had been earlier. I stared back, unwilling to back down, and this continued on for a while as Makoto looked between the two of us, occasionally writing down notes (of what, I didn't know).

Eventually Nanase broke the staring contest. "…You smell of chlorine. Why?" His voice was monotonous, and I blinked before sniffing my arm to test his blatant statement. It was true.

"Huh, I guess you really do go nose blind," I mumbled to myself before grinning at the two curious (or one curious and the other blank, but I was being courteous) looks I was given. "I swim after school everyday, and mornings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I'm not surprised that you can smell it." It was Friday and I'd stayed later to race Mikoshiba after he'd insulted my 100m fly time, so I hadn't had as much time to shower as I would've liked.

"Oh, you swim?" Makoto asked with – what I assume to be – his signature smile. "Haru and I used to swim back in middle school, and Haru still swims in the ocean whenever he can."

"Really? That's pretty cool," I was mostly thankful that we had something in common. "I just swim at Samezuka, as I'm afraid of the ocean, even though I've basically lived near it my whole life."

"Isn't Samezuka an all-boys school?" Makoto shared a look with Nanase, and I couldn't help but feel that I had missed an entire conversation.

"Yeah, it is, but my mom works there so I'm allowed to use their pool. Well that, and that their captain was really nice about letting me join the club, even if I'll never be able to join in on the meets." I snorted when I remembered my reaction when I was first offered to join the club, I was practically crying in happiness (on the inside). "But enough about me, what about this project?" After that it was all talk of Canada and the project, setting up a time and place (Nanase's house) to meet up on Saturday. The odd thing about it all was that every time Makoto would smile at me or laugh; I would feel this quivering in my heart. It took me the rest of the day, after I ended up blushing when he brushed against me when leaving the classroom, that I realized what had happened.

I had a crush on Makoto.

I was screwed… sadly not literally.

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><p><em>TBC...<em>

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><p><strong>AN:**

Thank you to those who followed this story! And to _NeitherSaneNorInsane_ for reviewing! :)**  
><strong>

USMCcAnthem


	6. Chapter 6

**6. I'm Crushing on You**

Even as a child, I've always been one to fall into like quickly. Appearance, personality, and sense of humour play the biggest decisions in my crushes, and if a guy manages to fall into any two of the categories, he is immediately moved up on my list of like to adoration. Dreams soon feature the person more and more often (usually just casual interaction, to small romantic gestures and dates) until I ended up blushing whenever I saw the person.

Having a crush makes me really awkward. I want to be closer to the person, often making the excuse to touch them, and always laughing, even when nothing is funny. I hate when I have a crush, and recognizing that I had one on such a sweet heart as Makoto was a step in the right direction…

I think.

So, knowing and identifying the problem, when I went over to Nanase-kun's place the next day, I resolutely decided to do the complete opposite (and thus be completely balanced) of what I usually do.

"Nanase-kun," I greeted the dark haired boy at the door, who nodded in return as he stepped back into the house. "Am I too early?" I wondered as I toed out of my slip-on shoes, padding barefoot on the cold hardwood floors.

He shook his head, "No, Makoto slept over, so we can start earlier."

"Oh," I exhaled and ran a hand through my bangs, "Okay, so shall we start?" We didn't, in fact, start right away. Apparently the two of them didn't have breakfast, so Nanase-kun was making Mackerel (I love Mackerel, so I gladly agreed to eat it when he placed a plate in front of me) and that ended up in a discussion I missed most of…_ damn nonverbal cues._ Eventually we started the project and I took the seat farthest from Makoto and constantly had to stop myself from leaning towards him.

Of course such odd behaviour would eventually be noticed.

"Are you alright Takashi-san?" Makoto asked in concern and my eyes widened when I noticed how cute he looked like that. "You've been acting odd all day and are quite flushed." And, as if to prove him right, my cheeks turned pinker. I buried my face into my hands and prayed for a miracle to save me…

And then my phone rang.

I jumped and nearly lunged for my phone, digging into my bag carelessly to grasp onto the contraption. I was near ready to become a slave for the person forever from saving me from such awkwardness. "Hello?" I asked as I answered it, not daring to look over to Makoto and Nanase-kun. "Who's this?"

"I'm hurt Takashi-_chan _that you can't recognize my number. I thought we were sex buddies," Mikoshiba's obnoxiously loud voice came out of the phone, and I turned to the two boys when I heard choking. Makoto was bright red and coughing as he stared at me with wide eyes, Nanase-kun was stunned too. Well, at least there was no longer the fear of being chained to a person forever as any feelings of gratitude fizzled to nonexistence.

Flushing more, I excused myself from the room to stand in Nanase-kun's backyard. "Yeah, yeah," I muttered in embarrassment. "But knowing your number would mean that you're actually good at sex."

Mikoshiba laughed, "And if you stopped mentioning the subject all the time, I might actually believe you."

"You suck," I grumbled as I sat on the deck, peripherally aware that Makoto and Nanase-kun were listening in.

And like always, Mikoshiba was quick to respond, "Only if you do it first, Takashi-_chan_." I couldn't help the snort that escaped me, but I soon focused on the topic at hand.

"Damn you Mikoshiba!" This was said in fond exasperation for a reason I couldn't comprehend except to know I wasn't really angry. "What are you calling for anyway? And how did you get my number?" I really needed to know before I embarrassed myself anymore.

Mikoshiba laughed some more, but did eventually sober. "I got your number from your mom, actually. She left it on my English assignment and did that weird smile she did when she insinuated that we were having a secret meeting." I groaned into my phone and resisted the urge to go home and shake my mom until she got it through her head to stop meddling. "My thoughts exactly, but that's not why I'm calling. I actually was wondering if you would come over," there was that odd twist I felt before, "and help me again with my English homework. I'll help you with anything in return." I hummed as I thought it through. The project was basically finished – it had been very easy with my knowledge of Canada and the English language – with only the decorative parts needing to be done, which Nanase-kun had volunteered to do.

"Give me a sec and I'll see if I can, 'kay?" I asked and got an affirmation before turning back to the eavesdropping boys. "Do you think we can call it quits? Mikoshiba is begging me for help, and I can't resist the urge to see him on his knees." My phone was still deliberately pressed against my ear so Mikoshiba could hear everything I said, which was easy to tell by the loud "HEY!" that came out of my phone. I snickered, but turned to look at both of them seriously. "I was serious about that question as we are basically finished anyway."

I deliberately did not look too long at Makoto, knowing that I would change my mind. And I didn't want to make a fool of myself any more than I already have.

"It's fine Takashi-san, Haru-chan and I can finish the rest, right Haru?" Makoto said with a soft smile, turning to stare at his best friend, who nodded as he stared away from either of us, a light pink brushing over his cheeks.

"Thanks a bunch guys," I grinned at them both and lifted my phone back to my ear. "You hear that?" I asked Mikoshiba, who was surprisingly silent.

"…Yeah, sorry to bother you when you were busy," he apologized, sounding odd, even through the phone. "You don't have to come over if you need to stay with them."

I laughed it off and waved goodbye to both Nanase-kun and Makoto, my bag tossed over my shoulder and my shoes slipped on. "It's fine, I was kind of looking for an excuse to leave anyway," I said as soon as I was far away enough to not be heard by them. "I was in an awkward situation."

Mikoshiba snorted, "That happens a lot with you, doesn't it?"

"It was an accident!" I denied instantly. "Totally not planned, I promise!"

Mikoshiba just laughed and I eventually joined him, it was funny, especially my reaction to seeing a guy naked for the first time. Though I knew (from experience) that Mikoshiba would never let me live it down. "Hey Takashi-kun?" He asked after our laughter petered out.

"Hmm?" I asked as I stood at the train station, gazing down the tracks in the hope that a train would magically appear. "What is it?"

He was silent, and I wondered if he had hung up on me. "…Call me Seijuurou, okay?" I blinked in surprise and would've tripped if I had been walking. "After all," he started and I unconsciously pressed my phone closer to my ear. "We should be on first name basis since you saw me naked."

I twitched and hung up to the sound of his laughter ringing out of the crap speakers. "Damn him," I grumbled under my breath. "Stupid Seijuurou."

I would never admit that his name rolled off my tongue a little too easily.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>


	7. Chapter 7

**7. Bullies**

Apparently my awkward actions around Makoto (I was trying to control myself, but it's hard to watch myself all the time) cemented my reputation as that 'weird, tall, foreigner girl' across the school. Somehow this also made me a prime target for traditional bullying and quite often I had to search for my school shoes and the only way I could get food was to bring it with me (as the line would 'mysteriously' grow longer every time I tried to go to the cafeteria). There was also the time some girls stole my clothes out of my gym locker, but I reported that, so it only happened once.

It was all very trying, especially when my mom found out.

"I'm going to the school and talking with your principal!" My mom had raged after an incident where some guys had decided to rough house with me (leading to a bruise on my cheek, though that was actually an accident). "This is unacceptable!"

"Mom," I had tried to talk her down, "it's fine. I can handle it." It was true; while it was tiring, it wasn't particularly bad and not everyone bullied me. People were just bad at accepting the unusual; it was why Nanase-kun and Makoto didn't have any friends outside of the two of them (though Makoto wasn't quite as shunned due to his personality). Makoto was too tall, and Nanase-kun too stoic.

"You shouldn't have to handle it," my mom had denied, but eventually conceded to me, thankfully. But after that, I was more careful when around the school, making sure that such a thing wouldn't happen again.

She didn't drop it though as she told my captain.

"Takashi-chan!" My captain called after practice one day, interrupting my impromptu innuendo war with Seijuurou, much to the disappointment of those watching. "Come over here, I need to talk to you!"

I growled at Seijuurou when he smirked, having ended up winning our war, but walked over to the captain anyway. "What's up buchou*?"

"You're being bullied," he stated bluntly. He wasn't one to dance around a subject, which made him both liked and hated as a captain.

My grin froze and my eyes narrowed at the dark haired captain. "How do you know that?"

"Your mom told me." That's it; I'm going to strangle her for meddling. "Why haven't you done anything about it?"

I shrugged, "There's nothing I can do. I have no friends at school and I don't think that it's too bad. People are just unused to foreigners, so they react badly."

"Don't." He demanded, staring deep into my brown eyes, so much so that I could see myself reflected in his near black eyes. "Don't rationalize it. It's not right and I won't let them continue to do this to you, not as your captain."

I sighed and twisted my goggles in my hand, "What can you do?"

My captain smirked and clapped me on the shoulder, "Just you wait and see."

For some reason, I wasn't reassured.

Especially when I turned around to see that everybody in the club had been listening to our conversation. For once I couldn't meet Seijuurou's golden eyes.

* * *

><p>*Buchou: Captain (in this context)<p>

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Thank you to those you started to follow this and _NeitherSaneNorInsane _for reviewing once more!

USMCcAnthem


	8. Chapter 8

**8. Thank You My Friends**

I was right to not be assured, when – a month before summer holidays – the entire Samezuka Swim Club showed up in front of my school. People gawked at them, I gawked at them, and they stood self-assured. "What are you guys doing here?" I immediately demanded, folding my arms over my chest. "You guys should be in school!"

Seijuurou laughed loudly as he broke free from the ranks, our captain following after him. "We have permission to be here – thanks to your mom – so it's no problem. Besides aren't you happy to see us?" He patted me on the head while my captain clapped me on my shoulder, waving over the other boys to come join us.

"You guys are so weird," I muttered under my breath as my first year buddies immediately tackled me in a group hug, pushing Seijuurou to the side. They shouted greetings in my ears obnoxiously and messed up my hair. "Argh, idiots, get off of me!" I yelled as I tried to dislodge them, only to gain laughter in response. They were idiots all right, but they were my idiots. Thankfully they did eventually stop so I was able to fix my hair and glare (though I doubt it was effective with the large smile on my face) at them all. "Really, you guys shouldn't be here."

Seijuurou scoffed, his sound repeated by the others while they shook their heads at me and made sounds of disagreement. "Yeah right, like we would let anyone mess with what is ours. Right buchou?"

"To think otherwise denotes your stupidity," the captain agreed with a smirk and I held back strangling him.

Instead I hid my face in my hands, so they wouldn't see how pleased I was by having them here. "This isn't happening," I breathed, though it was said happiness over embarrassment.

"But it's not a dream, Takashi-kun," Seijuurou whispered in my ear, his warm hand on my head. "We're here for you."

I broke down right there, accepting the hug Seijuurou gave me as our captain walked away, leaving me with the tall second year and the first years (who dog piled me again when they saw I was crying). His voice rang out across the grounds, but I couldn't hear what he said, too happy to think. "Thank you," I remember muttering again and again into Seijuurou's Samezuka tracksuit. "Thank you so much."

After that the students didn't bother me. I wasn't actively shunned or ignored. I was just there.

And it was perfect to me.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Hehe, don't mess with what the Samezuka Swim Club thinks is theirs. Quick conclusion to bullying problems, but I don't really see the team letting it go on for long once they found out. And that's it for now, I might write some more today, we'll see.

USMCcAnthem


	9. Chapter 9

**9. Summer Holidays**

Time passed quickly as Summer Holidays loomed forward, it was a pattern of going to school, going to practice and hanging out with the first years and Seijuurou whenever I could. Along the way, I found myself hanging out with Seijuurou more and more until I ended up making plans to hang out with him during the holidays (and swimming as it didn't end with school fortunately).

And boy did we ever. I went to his house in the Sano district every other day. He'd piss me off, and I'd mock him in return. It became an odd sort of friendship, I think. I'd asked him what he thought of our relationship, and his answer was something I should've expected.

"Takashi-_chan_, we are more than friends. We are fuck buddies, tango partners, teens that do the dirty together. Friends just doesn't cover our relationship, and you really shouldn't lie to others about it." He'd said this while an elderly couple walked past, and was soon bashed over the head by the cane of the old woman while I fell to the ground laughing.

"Don't speak of such vulgar things young man!" The lady had yelled at him. "Not accepting her friendship is poor form." The funniest part of the whole thing was the thumbs up Seijuurou had gotten from the old man before his wife dragged him off.

I've been sure to remind him of it at least once a week.

However I didn't spend all my time with him, as sometimes I would be with my parents (when my dad had the day off) and would go hiking with them. It was a lot of fun for all of us just to be together, joking and teasing each other. For all their faults, my parents are pretty awesome and I'm happy that we are all pretty close. (I also managed to get my revenge on my mom by pushing her into a stream, so I was pleased pickle.)

Summer holidays were short though and were nearly at the end.

"Takashi-_chan_!" Seijuurou called from behind me three days before the end of holiays as I walked along the beach, ignoring the people lounging in the sand. "Wait up for a second."

Though I considered continuing forward, I did stop and turn to stare at him. And I do mean stare. "Wh-what are you wearing?" I questioned in a monotone, too shocked to even pull out any emotion.

He laughed loudly, scratching the back of his neck when people turned their heads to stare at him as well. "You remember my little sister, right?" He asked and continued when I nodded dumbly. "Yeah, she decided that I need a 'make-over' and I couldn't deny her." To make things clear, Seijuurou was currently wearing a tight – practically see through – white shirt, painted on jeans, eyeliner and practically screamed 'have sex with me'. It was very distracting, considering I either saw him half naked or wearing baggy sports clothes.

"So why did you come outside?" I found it really weird that I could see all his abs when he was wearing a shirt, and for some reason it bothered me. You'd think I'd be used to it because of swimming, but apparently not.

"It didn't seem that bad," Seijuurou shrugged. "I like to think I look sexy," he winked at me. "After all, it made you speechless."

My eyes became slits as I shifted my gaze from his cloth covered body to his golden eyes that I knew were laughing at me. "That's only because I was surprised by how much your manly pride was damaged."

"Oh, it wasn't damaged too much," I was suddenly aware that I'd left my words open again for interpretation. "You can check if you wish? After all, you've seen it before and should know best." He then smirked and I was left frowning before realizing exactly what he meant.

"Gah, screw you bastard," I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest as he chuckled once more.

"You keep on asking me too, yet I've never seen any results. Tsk, tsk, Takashi-_chan_, you tease." I just slapped my hand to my face and shut up. Really, he was way too good at this to keep up with sometimes.

"Onii-chan*!" A voice called out, saving me from any more damage to self-esteem.

"Imouto*," Seijuurou smiled as he turned to catch the red headed blur that rammed in to him. "What's up?" The girl unwrapped her arms from the tall teen, revealing herself to be much shorter and younger than the male. I'd met her a couple of times, and knew her to be fourteen and quite girly.

"Nothing, I just wanted a hug," she chirped cheerfully before looking around him to see me. "Hi Takashi-san!" I nodded at her with a smile, finding how her amber (yeah, I'll call hers amber, but Seijuurou's gold) eyes shone with happiness. "Oh-oh, are you guys on a date? Is that why you were okay to wear the outfit onii-chan?"

Seijuurou and I shared a look before laughing together. "No, we're not on a date," Seijuurou denied, making his little sister pout. "And I think I look good like this, so of course I would leave the house."

She giggled incredulously at his answer while I tossed him an annoyed look, remembering what he said earlier. Sometimes a guy's got to show some humility, but it seems as though he missed the memo. "Whatever you say onii-chan," she shook her head but continued smiling. All the Mikoshiba's seemed to have this constant charm and happiness radiating off of them, I'd noticed after meeting their parents (their younger brother was away at camp for swimming... surprised?). I'd say it was unnatural, but the rest of his family was too nice to say such harsh things about them (not that it stopped me from saying it about him). "But really, mom called to say to come home, so you have to say goodbye to Takashi-san."

"Goodbye to Takashi-san," he repeated dully and I laughed.

"Goodbye Seijuurou," I replied with a little wave and nearly fell over from laughter when his sister dragged him away from me, a mock dull expression plastered on his face. It was comical mostly because she was a little slip of a girl while he stood at 6'2" and packed with muscles. "See you tomorrow!"

When I saw him the next day, I demanded that he wear eyeliner again, but unfortunately he denied the request. It was okay though as his sister helped me tackle him to the floor and put on some lipstick, blush and eye shadow to match the new layer of eyeliner.

I got pictures too, so I think that my summer turned out pretty awesome.

Now I get to look at his picture and laugh at it every morning.

* * *

><p>*Onii-chan: Big Brother<p>

*Imouto: Little Sister

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:_**

Family fluff anyone? And can you picture Seijuurou in make-up? Hehe. Also, Seijuurou apparently does have a little sister, so she's not an actual OC. I need a name for her though and maybe for buchou too, though he's okay so far without one. Hm...

You guys are awesome (especially _NeitherSaneNorInsane_ - I've memorized your username now - for reviewing _again_).

Much Love,

USMCcAnthem


	10. Chapter 10

**10. Prefectuals Pt. 1**

PREFECTURALS ARE HERE!

I jumped up and down in my place in the line up. While I wasn't swimming I was literally ready to burst with excitement. Seijuurou coughed, a smile hidden behind his hand before he placed it on my head to stop my jumping. I scowled at him, but stopped jumping, instead turning to listen to buchou.

"Alright everyone!" Buchou called out to us all, back straight and head held high. "Prefecturals are here and I expect to see some brilliant swimming out there! Today I don't care if you are fast enough to go to nationals at this minute and think this meet is beneath you… it's not! You will swim your hardest and show off just how good you and the Samezuka Swim Club are! Are you ready?" We called out a loud, synchronized affirmative and he smiled at us as he relaxed his posture. "Then get ready and pumped, because we are going to take this meet by storm!"

The guys around me cheered as they broke ranks to jump onto each other and talk together. I elbowed Seijuurou in the side and grinned up at him. "Ready to 'take the meet by storm'?" I made air quotes as I mocked our captain.

Seijuurou nodded and laughed raucously while others around us joined in ruffling my hair and patting me on the back before turning back to their conversations. "Like I would do it any differently," he then winked at me, and I felt like I had missed some subtle message.

Ignoring that, I continued on, "You're doing 100m back and 200m free, right? I thought for sure you would pick the medley, you're good enough at all the strokes." I rolled my shoulders back as I followed the team into the pool, still looking at Seijuurou.

He grinned at me, pleased. "Thanks Takashi-_chan._ It's nice to know you think so highly of me. I'll be sure to stroke you right, tonight."

"Gah! Damn it!" I smacked his shoulder and turned away from him to hide my blush. That was way more direct that it usually is. "Daisuke, save me from this pimp!" I cried to one of my first year friends. Daisuke was the one who helped me out of the change room that one time, and is always the first to tackle me in a hug. He's also about 5'5".

Daisuke puffed up his chest and turned to face Seijuurou with a mock serious expression. "Mikoshiba-senpai, I'm sorry to inform you that Takashi-chan is not available for purchase… because she's _mine._" He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away laughing as the others chuckled at the two of us.

I calmed down from my laughter as we sat on the bleachers reserved for Samezuka, waiting for the rest of the group to follow us. "Thanks Dai, who knows what would've happened if I was left alone with Seijuurou." I said this loudly so that said teen could hear me as he and the others joined us.

"Who knows?" Daisuke commented. "He could've dragged you away and missed the meet while he had his dirty way with you." I narrowed my eyes at my fellow brunette, oh so he was going to do this now?

"Or maybe you would've jumped him in the parking lot," buchou commented drily. "It would save us the effort of having to endure the sexual tension that wafts off you guys." A scowl grew on my face. Really, buchou too?

"I personally believe that we would've cemented our bromance," Seijuurou added crudely and I sniggered, annoyance falling away to amusement. He took off his bag and tossed it onto the bench next to me to find his cap and goggles.

"Hell yeah, who cares about sex when bromance is where it's at?" I smacked Seijuurou on the butt with a leer, which was returned with a wink.

From my other side Daisuke muttered under his breath, "Just completely disregard that one of you is female." I shoved him off the bench in retaliation.

"Sexual tension," Buchou deadpanned while Seijuurou and I rolled our eyes. "But enough of our resident comedy act, it's time for warm-up, so everyone let's head to the pool. Takashi-chan, watch over our stuff."

"HAI!" We shouted in unison.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

I have no idea when Prefecturals really are, so I based it off of my high school swim club (all three of us) experience, which was in late September. Anyway, thanks a bunch to _NeitherSaneNorInsane _and _Black-Silver-White_ for reviewing! I needed more characters! So Daisuke is breaking from the obscurity of the other first year boys, look forward to learning more about him and who knows what I'll do next!

Part two for this won't be coming until either tomorrow or Sunday due to my pile of homework and my job.

Cheers all,

UMSCcAnthem


	11. Chapter 11

**11. Prefectuals Pt. 2**

Now one thing that's hard to notice as a swimmer, is that watching people swim laps is really boring. However, there is something about being on Samezuka that makes it so much different. It's a _team_, not just a group of individuals. Back in Canada that was one of the things that I found lacking; that we were never a team. We'd wear the same colours, cheer for our friends, but there was never the same cohesion that I've found in Japan. We cheer together, laugh together, cry together, fail and succeed together. We are a team. So when Daisuke walked to the blocks as the first swimmer of the day, we cheered, blood pumping through our veins like we were the ones about to swim.

As per the regulations, we were quiet as the whistle blew, watching as Daisuke stepped onto the block and adjusted his goggles. He stood out from all the other, taller swimmers, standing on the block for lane eight, the slow lane. Yet none of us laughed at him for being in the slow lane.

"Take your marks," the starter called and all the swimmers fell into the starting position, each having their own variations of diving. And we watched them in anticipation, holding our breath.

_BEEP!_

They dived into the water, Daisuke starting faster than his taller companions, and they began to swim. "Ike*, ike, ike, ike, ike Daisuke!" Buchou called through his rolled up program. And captain, being who he was, never used last names, ever. He was very casual, and everybody tended to follow his lead… eventually.

"_IKE, IKE, IKE, IKE, IKE DAISUKE!"_ We copied our captain, cheering Daisuke as he pulled free of the water with a quick stroke. Daisuke was a quick swimmer, especially this: his breaststroke. He glided through the water with aggression, his kick snapping behind him. He soon pulled ahead of the guy in the lane beside him, having so much more speed than the slow, yet powerful swimmer the other was.

"Kikku*, kikku, kikku, kikku, kikku Daisuke!" Buchou called again as Daisuke's kick began to lag. I jumped up onto the bench and stood behind Seijuurou to get a better view, pushing on the tall teens shoulders to lift myself higher.

"_KIKKU, KIKKU, KIKKU, KIKKU, KIKKU DAISUKE!_" We repeated, and I was nearly screaming as I watched the turn. It was so close, and Daisuke was beating his old record!

"COME ON DAISUKE!" I cried out of sync from the others, but no one blamed me for it. "YOU CAN DO IT!" I was nearly hanging off of Seijuurou; I was so into the race. My eyes were wide open so that I didn't miss a single thing.

"Pusshu*, pushhu, pusshu, pusshu, pusshu Daisuke!" Buchou cried once more as Daisuke pulled ahead of two other swimmers in the final leg of the race.

"_PUSSHU, PUSSHU, PUSSHU, PUSSHU, PUSSHU DAISUKE!_" We cried after him, all of us now screaming wildly as we watched him make that last push to the wall.

"YES!" I cried as I noticed his time. He'd shaved off five whole seconds from his old record! "He did it!" I laughed happily as Seijuurou grabbed my knees and gave me a piggy back around the bleachers to high-five everyone. It didn't matter that he didn't make it to the finals; he'd made a personal best and we'd all helped him get there. Besides, he's just a first year; he has loads of time left to improve before his final year. Finally we stopped celebrating and continued to watch the others swim, each as exciting and invigorating as the first. Even those that lost their race or missed their times, were cheered on and given props with ideas of how they could do better next time.

Buchou also swam the 100m breast and blew us all out of the water with his superb technique and with how he managed to best his – already amazing – time, just milliseconds from making a meet record. It was wicked awesome to watch. He also participated in the 100m free event and met his old time, tying with the guy beside him to both be pushed into the finals.

Then the 100m back event was called, and all those swimming it in Samezuka were given a pat on the back as they went to marshalling. I made sure to give Seijuurou an extra hard pat on the back as good luck and all I got in response was, "I knew you liked it rough Takashi_-chan_."

Honestly, that guy…

Daisuke and I stood side by side as we watch Seijuurou jump into the water at the sound of the whistle, barely making any waves. He moved into position, fixing his goggles one last time before the starter called, "Take your marks." All the boys pulled themselves out of the water, feet shuffling into position on the wall and held themselves there before the…

_BEEP!_

Seijuurou pushed off the wall in a beautiful arch, his form (predictably) perfect as he sliced into the water. His kick was powerful and quick – something which had improved after having been beaten by me on every turn or dive during practice – easily pulling ahead of his competition. He broke the surface with a powerful, yet graceful, stroke that was quickly followed by another. As someone who was good, if not great, at all of the strokes, I knew when someone had talent. And boy did Seijuurou have it in spades. His skill in swimming was being able to cut through the water, completely streamlined. It wasn't yet perfect, but I could see in a few years that there would be little who'd be able to challenge him in swimming if he continued on the pace he was setting now.

"Ike, ike, ike, ike, ike Seijuurou!" Buchou called loudly, once again using his program to project his voice even more.

"_IKE, IKE, IKE, IKE, IKE SEIJUUROU!_" I was waving wildly, my hands making a pushing motion that I doubted he could see. Daisuke stepped out of my way as one of my wayward hands nearly hit him in the head, but I was too excited to care.

Once again we cheered together, getting louder and louder despite the fact that our voices were tired for yelling for hours, all too excited to care that we'd sound like sixty year old chain smokers the next day. Seijuurou continued to distance himself from the others on his turn and started moving even faster on the last length. "Oh my god, oh my god, he's going to beat the meet record!" I yelled as I glanced between the time ticking away on the board and the program where the record was posted. "COME ON SEIJUUROU! YOU CAN DO IT!"

I'm not sure if he heard me or not, but his kick built up, moving him further through the water in that last five meters until his finished the race explosively. There was a lag on the board as it froze and everyone watched in with bated breath.

**'4. 1 Mikoshiba, Seijuurou 1:03.44'**

We cheered loudly, our roar of approval stomping over everyone else as we jumped up and down in excitement. Daisuke tackled me as he hugged me tightly, screaming into my ear about how he "knew Seijuurou-senpai could do it!" I'm pretty sure people back in Iwatobi could hear us we were that loud. When Seijuurou got back from the change rooms, he had on a huge grin, as he was dog piled by us all.

It was then that I knew I loved these guys, because we were _a team_.

And when the meet continued, with me either hanging off of Seijuurou or hugging Daisuke, our cheering never ended. We still cheered for those who lost and those who won. There was no discrepancy between when one of my first year boys (yes, _my_) messed up his turn and when Seijuurou made another best time in his 200m free.

I'm pretty sure that this had been the best meet I'd ever been in.

…And I hadn't even swum.

* * *

><p>*Ike: go<p>

*Kikku:kick

*Pusshu: push (there's another way to spell it, but I'm not going back to check if it's the right one)

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Okay, so I was totally hyped up to write this after I finished my homework. I totally based Samezuka's cheering off of the drunken section of stands at a football game, but with the fluff I've been sprouting, I can totally see it. And some things I need to address. Regarding Seijuurou's time, I wasn't entirely sure what I should put (it's been awhile since I went to a swim meet and back was _never _my stroke) so I based it off of the Swim BC and Canadian Age standards which range between 1:06.03 to 1:01.30 for 50m pools, so I went in the middle. Also, I need to say that Seijuurou is _faster _here than in canon. Why? Because I see him like Momo, someone who does better in competitions. And Taka (totally stealing that nickname) is actually fast (not too much, but at the AAA standards for her age group in BC before she began to push against Seijuurou), so with her competing with him, he would go faster. It's like I mentioned in the story, his turns got better to match Taka and he became faster as a result.

Nothing else I need to say besides thank you to those who have followed and or reviewed(_darkxXxflames_ and _NeitherSaneNorInsane), _you are awesome and deserve props.

This was fun, but I gotta go finish reading about phonetics, so see ya later!

USMCcAnthem


	12. Chapter 12

**12. Teach me!**

As a native English speaker and someone whose parent works as an English teacher, I liked to think of myself as being quite good at English. However as I stared at the board in front of me, I was clueless.

_'How do these sentences violate the prescriptive rules of English?_

_a) Who did you come with?_

_b) Jim and me are going campin' this weekend._

_c) Somebody left their book on the train._

_d) Julie ain't got none.'_

I blinked once more as I stared down at the paper I had copied down the questions down on to. Really, two of those sentences I use on an everyday basis. How the heck was I supposed to know? I probably should go to my mom for help, but she was going to be busy marking essays all weekend and I didn't want to disappoint her by not knowing the answers. Looking it up online would also be a good option, but I've been wary of it since the blue waffle fiasco last year. (I was just looking to see what people were talking about… _my poor brain._) I really didn't want to know what people's sick minds could come up with for 'prescriptive English,' do you?

With all my usual options drained dry, I made up my mind to ask the only viable person.

"…No," Seijuurou said after practice later that day. He'd been training extra hard after he gained his meet record, trying to get even faster. It was getting harder and harder to meet him, but I'd been pushing myself further nonetheless. Today hadn't been as difficult as it usually was, and it made me wonder if I had gotten better, or if Seijuurou had gotten slower.

For some reason, I doubted the former, no matter how odd the latter was.

"Please!" I begged; hands clasped together in front of me in an exaggerated gesture. "I helped you that one time, remember?"

Seijuurou frowned, eyes tired, "Yeah, and you also said that you were _Canadian_, so _of course_ you knew _English_." Damn, I never knew that would come back to haunt me. "And I really don't have the time, Takashi."

Okay, something was seriously wrong. He didn't mock me or make a sexual innuendo I know he could've said. "Seijuurou, what's wrong?" I demanded, dropping my ridiculous position. Instead I stood tall and stared up into his golden eyes seriously.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Nothing, I just didn't get enough sleep."

"…I don't believe you, at least not completely."

Seijuurou just sighed and brushed past me to the change rooms, leaving me feeling disjointed and very awkward.

"What was that about?" Daisuke asked me as he scrubbed a towel over his head. He looked up at me with those pleading eyes that made me crumple every time.

"I don't know, he just blew me off," – I didn't mention how much this seemed to bother me – "and walked away without insulting me once."

"What?"

I nodded at his wide-eyed look, "Yeah, it's like he was switched out with an alien or something."

Daisuke cocked his head to the side in confusion, though I knew that it was false by the glint that appeared in his dark eyes. "Eh? Alien? Like a foreigner?"

"Baka*!" I whacked him on the back of the head. "Do I seem like an alien to you?"

"Well… you're tall enough." Somehow, he fell back into the pool… I have _no idea_ how that happened.

Later, when Daisuke had climbed back out the pool and shared my towel with me, we had conspired together to figure out what was wrong. Our plot was unable to fail! We were going to meet up the next day and _sneak into his room_. Of course, after that we were going to search his room for incriminating photos and a journal so I could blackmail him to help me with my homework…_ I mean_, uh, find what was wrong so we could help him. Yeah.

With our expert planning, we met at exactly 0800 hours, excited and ready to go.

_***What actually happened***_

_I shuffled down the street, head hung low as I yawned tiredly into my fist. _

_"Takashi-chan?" Daisuke questioned as he met up with me. "Are you alright?"_

_I grumbled under my breath and continued to shuffle forward._

_"Takashi-chan?" I heard Daisuke ask again, but was too tired to care. "Uh Takashi-chan… watch out –"_

_I tripped over a tree root – which I swore jumped from out of nowhere – and landed in a bush with a groan. "…Fuck."_

_"Takashi-chan, are you alright?"_

_"…No." I tried to sit up and felt my shirt get caught on the branches of the bush. "…Shit."_

_***End***_

So, with our ninja skills, we snuck down the halls quietly.

_***What actually happened***_

_"DAISUKE GET BACK HERE YOU BAKA!" I yelled as I chased him down the halls, my shirt missing as it trailed behind my fellow first year. _

_Daisuke cackled and waved my shirt tauntingly, "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!"_

_***End***_

And broke into his room with style.

_***What actually happened***_

_"Thanks man," Daisuke patted his fellow classmate (and Seijuurou's roommate) on the back after he had taken a picture of me shirtless. Daisuke had refused to hand me back my shirt for this very same reason and I was not bothered. I was wearing a sports bra after all. _

_"Anytime Kazama-kun, anytime," he agreed cheerfully, turning to leer at me one last time._

_I turned to Daisuke, unimpressed. "…Was that _really _necessary?"_

_"Hah…?"_

_***End***_

Before searching through the room for any evidence of his change of personality.

_***What actually happened***_

_"That's a lot of pictures," I muttered as I stared at the wall filled with pictures of different teenage girls. I even found one of myself on it. It was one that his sister had obviously taken, as the two of us were at his house having a glaring match. I would say exactly when it happened, but the two of us hung out a lot during the summer, and glared even more. _

_"Yeah," Daisuke agreed dumbly, mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. "It's kinda weird… maybe you were right about him being an alien."_

_I patted him roughly on the head while I turned to look through the rest of the stuff. From personal experience, I knew that most people kept the embarrassing stuff under their bed. Getting on my knees and hands, I quickly grabbed the box that was pushed a little ways under the bottom bunk. Quickly opening it, I was both surprised and not to find a porn magazine. "People still read these?" I asked, blinking down at the naked woman on the cover. "I thought everyone watched free porn online." _

_"No, our internet is monitored here," Daisuke commented as he studiously avoided my gaze."…Do you? Watch porn online?"_

_"Ha…" I placed the magazine back inside the box when I realized that nothing else of interest was in it. Then I turned to meet his eyes determinately. "Do you really want to know?" He shook his head slowly and turned around to look at the desk. "Good answer."_

_***End***_

In the end, we sat on the bed, morose. We had found_ nothing_ of interest besides the skin mags and creepy wall of girls. It was_ horrible!_ How was I supposed to blackmail him if he had nothing around to blackmail him with? "There is nothing here!" I cried in despair once again, my head falling into my hands with a depressed sigh.

"And just what were you looking for?" A _very_ familiar voice asked, making me freeze. "Takashi-_chan,_ why are you shirtless?"

I laughed nervously and lifted my head to look the red head up and down. He was decked out in track pants, simple t-shirt and sandals. His red hair was in his usual slicked back style, yet his golden eyes were narrowed in obvious annoyance. It didn't help that it was still pretty early in the day and it seemed like he hadn't gotten much sleep. "Well, you see, that's a pretty funny story…"

Daisuke nodded quickly beside me, "Yeah, I took it from her so that I could bribe your roommate with a picture of her shirtless."

We both turned to look at my fellow first year incredulously. "Wait… you mean to tell me that you did that on purpose?" Anyone who knew me well could tell that I was not happy right then.

"You sold a picture of _Takashi_ shirtless to _my roommate_?" Seijuurou demanded, and though I couldn't see his face from my position, it must've been scary to cause the blood to drain from Daisuke's face.

Daisuke laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Ha, well, look at the time! I must be going!" He said that all very quickly before darting off the bed, using his small stature to dart past both of us and slam the door closed behind him.

We blinked at the door in slight surprise before I sighed, "He still has my shirt." And it was getting cold, damn it!

Seijuurou shook his head in mock sadness, "Tsk, tsk, Takashi-_chan_, letting another guy take your shirt. I never knew you were so easy. Or maybe you are trying to make me jealous?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I choked, my face colouring against my will.

"Baka," my hands covered my cheeks as I huffed in annoyance, but I couldn't help but smile when he laughed. Not that I would let him win this, "But really, I have to say that Daisuke is a_ much _better bed partner for a very good reason. I'm sure you've seen it in the change room…" I winked at him cheekily. "After all, I should know best, eh?"

He shook his head as he sat down beside me, "And with that knowledge, you should know just how wrong that statement is." He placed his elbow on my shoulder and leaned heavily against me, and I had to stabilize myself to keep from falling over and bashing my head on the metal beams of the bunk bed. "But you guys never did answer me as to why you were in here."

I shrugged my left shoulder, "I was here to get blackmail to make you help me with my homework and maybe find out why you were so weird yesterday."

He tossed me a look before pushing off the bed to search through the drawers for something. "Why are you so insistent that I help you when your mom is an English teacher and what type of blackmail were you hoping to get?" He tossed me a shirt, hitting me in the face when I wasn't quick enough to catch it. I scowled at his quiet chuckle, but didn't say anything about it.

Slipping into the large shirt gratefully, I answered truthfully, "I don't want to disappoint my mom, and you're pretty smart. As for the blackmail… well that doesn't matter, as I didn't find any." I moved back on the bed to lean against the wall and watched as Seijuurou sat at his desk, taking out a large math textbook. "You didn't tell me what was wrong with you yesterday."

He rolled his eyes (though I couldn't see it actually happen, I knew he did it), "I was telling the truth Takashi-_chan,_ I was tired. But it was mostly because of this," he hefted the math text. "I have a math test on Monday worth 50% of my grade for this unit. If I fail this, I'll most likely fail the course. I need math for university and I don't want to have a black mark on my transcripts." That made a lot more sense than my alien theory.

"Let's do a trade then," I suggested. "You help me with my English, and I'll see what I can do to help you learn the math. I've always heard that teaching someone else how to do something makes it easier to remember, even if it is only for the person teaching."

Seijuurou looked at me seriously, searching for something (not that I know what it is) before nodding. "Alright, but you don't have your English homework on you."

I waved away the concern, "That doesn't matter. I was serious yesterday when I told you it was a small question." He raised his eyebrow sceptically. "Seriously, I just need to borrow a piece of paper and a pen and I'm good to go."

"Then hit me with it," he taunted me and I had to resist the urge to say something inappropriate.

I smiled instead, a little impish, and asked, "What's prescriptive English?"

"…Really?" He deadpanned as he passed me a pen and some paper. I nodded cheerfully as he sighed. "Whatever. Prescriptive English is…"

I then learned that Seijuurou was a_ really_ good teacher.

* * *

><p>*Baka: idiot<p>

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

So a chapter dedicated to my evil LING homework (I still gotta work on it too) and the craziness that occurs when 100 overheated university students meet together to talk about anime. This was really fun to write (especially the Daisuke bits, he's a mixture of sarcastic and just plain crazy, the perfect friend to Taka-chan) and it ended up being much longer than I expected (sneaking into Seijuurou's room was a bit more detail than I had intended it to be). But I hope you enjoy it too.

Anyway, I want to say thanks to those of you who have favourited and followed this and to _NeitherSaneNorInsane, MikomiCosplay _and _Rakuen91 _for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

Talk to you later!

USMCcAnthem


	13. Omake 1

**Omake: Isn't it Eternal Summer, not Eternal Winter?**

_Daisuke's Answer:_

"Hey Daisuke, why are the meets held in fall and winter anyway?" Takashi asked, staring down at the shorter male in curiosity. They were lounging in the Samezuka pool on a Saturday, having already finished the extra practice planned for the day in response to the up coming Regionals.

"Well Takashi-chan, that's a long story," Daisuke said as he floated closer to the lean, taller girl. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Takashi splashed some water into his face with a laugh when he floated too close, "Of course I want to know, idiot. I wouldn't ask otherwise."

Spluttering for a moment, Daisuke grumbled under his breath before nodding in confirmation to the only female on the team. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn ya." He swam to the edge of the pool and pulled himself out of the water so he wouldn't have to focus on floating while story telling. "So this story begins about ten years ago when Ebansu Janetto * moved from America to Japan; you know the top women's swimmer of 1988 to 1992. She married the head of the Japanese High School Swimmers Association, actually.

"Because of her marriage, she learned a lot about how the high school meets and events are run. However, she found it a much different experience from her own high school days. Her husband, knowing that she was having trouble dealing with culture shock, proposed the idea of moving the meets from Summer to Winter, like it is in America*. Surprisingly, the motion passed. So now, because of Ebansu-san, we now have our events in the winter instead of the summer."

Takashi looked at him in disbelief, "Is that really true?"

"…No," Daisuke admitted sheepishly. Takashi took that as confirmation to pull him into the pool.

* * *

><p><em>Seijuurou's Answer:<em>

"Hey sexy, do you know why we compete in the winter instead of the summer?" Takashi asked as she lazed on the red head's bed, wearing one of his shirts after the elder's roommate (purposely) spilt coffee over hers.

"Oh ho, I'm sexy now? I thought you said I wasn't attractive enough to blow in a thousand years?" He smirked at the girl on the bed, turning away from his homework. "And why are you curious?"

"Idiot, I'm trying to flatter you into telling me the answer," Takashi grumbled under her breath. "And I mentioned nothing of your attractiveness when mentioning I wouldn't blow you. You're sexy and I know it." There was silence for a moment before both sniggered, humming the tune to the LMFAO song, which was a classic in their humble opinions.

Calming down enough to answer, Seijuurou explained, "Well the reason we swim in the winter is because someone sued the JHSSA about using the best outdoor pool during the summer. So they moved the dates back and moved to the indoor pool instead, so there wouldn't be any problems." He then stood up and stretched with a loud yawn while the younger girl watched him.

"Seriously?" Takashi deadpanned.

"…Nope," he denied with a mischievous grin that made Takashi nervous, and for good reason.

She shrieked with laughter as he pounced on her, tickling her sides. "Ah! Se-Seijuurou! S-Stop!" He shook his head and chuckled while she writhed on the bed. "Da-Damn you!" She shouted when one hand tickled under her knee.

They never knew that the entire floor of Seijuurou's dorm now thought they were sex buddies.

* * *

><p><em>Buchou's Answer:<em>

"Hey buchou!" Takashi shouted after her captain after practice on Monday. He stopped walking and turned back to the only girl on his team with a raised eyebrow. She panted lightly when she reached him, having sprinted from the change rooms to meet him before he disappeared into his dorm. "Hah, can you, ha, tell me why we compete in winter?"

The captain waited until the younger female straightened up to answer, his face blank. "We swim in the winter because pool usually used for nationals is closed for maintenance after part of the roof collapsed two years ago. At the time, the JHSSA was unable to book the replacement pool for the summer, so nationals occurred in winter instead." He shrugged at her scrutinizing look. "It's actually true. I have no idea why they continued to have the meets in the winter instead of the summer, but I do know that they are moving it back to the regular season next year."

"…Oh."

Buchou nodded at her with a small smile. "That the answer you were looking for?"

"Yeah, thanks buchou," she grinned at her captain before jogging back the pool to grab her stuff.

"First years are so strange," the captain of the Samezuka muttered to himself before returning to his walk. He had to contact the school that had scouted him, after all.

* * *

><p><em>The Truth:<em>

_On August 22nd, 2011 the roof of the Nationals pool collapsed[1], leading to the injury of three people. Because of the subsequent collapse, three days before the start of the __**Japanese High School Swimmers Association (JHSSA)**__ Nationals meet – where the top high school swim teams from all over the country meet to swim against one another – the meet was postponed until an adequate pool was found. The meet ended up being delayed until late November, due to the legal battle that occurred between the JHSSA and one of the injured parties who had been setting up for the upcoming meet[2]. _

_The next year, many expected the meets to return to their usual schedule, however some influence from the JHSSA president's wife – Olympic Swimmer __**Janet Evans**__ (エバンスジャネット__) – changed the summer schedule to a winter one[3]. With the closure of the usual pool due to maintenance, no one has complained to the change of times, though it has caused scouts from universities around the world to be more proactive when scouting Japanese talent[4]._

_However next year the meets will soon relapse to their previous schedules with the re-opening of the Nationals pool happening on June 6, 2013[5]._

_Source: Gigipedia: ...gigi/Japanese_High_School_Swimmers_Association#Summer_to_Winter_

* * *

><p>* Ebansu Janetto: Janet Evans, past Olympic Swimmer and gold metal holder. Was the top female swimmer in 1988 and 1992 (?) in the world. I totally just used her name her because I could.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

I just wanted to deal with the fact that I found out when the meets actually occur and make a reason for why I screwed up, even though it was just me being an idiot. This is not as funny as it was in my head, but here it is anyway. And I totally forgot that you can't post web addresses on fanfiction, no matter how fake they are. Anyway, there are about two or three more chapters until I venture into canon (wish me good luck with that) and you get to see how it all works out.

Also thank you to those of you who favourited and reviewed (_NeitherSaneNorInsane, darkxXxflames and Rakuen91),_ ya'll are awesome, even if I haven't said anything back. I blame my homework which is currently trying to kill me (there's so much of it) and that I really should be doing that instead of writing this, but, well... this is so much funner (is that a word?).

Well, cheers!

USMCcAnthem


	14. Chapter 13

**13. Telling a Stranger **

Meets, school, time… it all passed by so quickly. One moment I was cheering at Prefecturals and the next thing I knew I was standing in a hallway at the indoor pool where Nationals was being held. It was crazy, oh so crazy. A goofy grin hadn't left my face since I'd watched buchou dive into the water, fighting for his rightful position as first while Scouts watched on, impressed. However there was a two-hour break until finals, and I'd gone off to take a break from the team.

(Sometimes all that testosterone is a bit too much for me. Especially when one of my senpai whipped out a skin mag.)

I rubbed my arms as the chilly breeze from the open doors blew across me, moving a little faster to avoid it. It was nearly winter by now, and the cold was a little too difficult to bear at times; I didn't know how the boys did it, walking around in only their jackets and suits. I huffed out a sigh as I spotted a vending machine, another tall male standing in front of it. I rummaged in my pocket for some spare change and stood just to the side of the tall male, looking around his wide shoulders to look at the options available. The can of Pocket Sweat was calling my name (it was good, no matter how odd the odd the name was) yet the guy in front of me made no move to pick anything or to actually move at all.

"Hey," I called softly, not wanting to seem too rude, "if you can't decide, can I go first?" The guy jumped, obviously startled by my voice. He turned his head to look at me and I was met with the most gorgeous, turquois, bedroom eyes I had ever seen in my life. My face burned like the time Makoto had helped me up when I'd fallen (and subsequently flashed him when my skirt flipped up) and then became even redder when I remembered that certain incident.

"Are you okay?" He asked, yet his voice was slightly arrogant, as if he couldn't be bothered. I nodded mutely because I was almost overloaded. Damn body and its reactions to hot people! I either crush on them badly – ultimately becoming extremely awkward – or hate them. "Then go ahead." He stepped aside to let me grab my pop, which I did, fumbling slightly with my change while watching him out of the corner of my eye.

He watched me absently as I bent over to grab my drink, and I turned back to look at him with my cheeks still painted pink. We stared at each other silently in an odd sort of stand off, before I broke it by popping open my can of pop. I took a sip of it and offered the can to him. He blinked at me in an apathetic sort of curiosity before grasping the can in his large hands and taking a gulp himself. I noticed as he did so that he grimaced, quickly lowering his arm. I narrowed my eyes at him, glancing at his arm while I took the can back from him.

"Injured your shoulder?"

He flinched and looked away, anger easily visible on his face. "It's none of your business."

"You're right," I nodded amicably. "I don't even know your name, but then again, I've heard that telling a stranger is easier. Actually, I've had someone do that to me, in the middle of a meet once." I risked a sly glance at the attractive male before moving on with my story. "This girl had injured her knees, the muscles in the joints were wearing away the more she swam to the point where it hurt her to do breast kick. There's a fancy name for it, but I don't remember what it was." I shrugged it off, and pretended to ignore how those sexy eyes now watched me intently. "She'd gone to a doctor because her knees were swelling after every practice, so her and her parents learned of the problem. However she was afraid of telling her teammates and coach of the problem. Her best stroke was breast and she was _this_ close from making her qualifying times for Nationals.

"It was after her 100m breast race that I met her, crying in one of the hallways clutching at her knees. She'd made her qualifying time, but she'd pulled a muscle in her leg and had nearly broken down before everyone when she pulled out of the pool." I sighed as I remembered the older girl, sitting in only her bathing suit, shivering in the empty hallway. "She told me everything, about her knee and the pressure she felt to meet the expectations of not only herself but that of her friends as well. She didn't know that I wasn't the only person in the hallway and that her friends were listening to what she was saying." I sighed sadly and leaned against the vending machine, taking another sip of the drink before offering it once again to the taller guy before me. He once again took it, finishing the remaining liquid before crushing it in his hand.

"Let me guess," he drawled out, "she solved her problem and lived happily ever after."

I laughed bitterly and shook my head. "Oh heavens no," I gasped out. "She did manage to make up with her friends before she was rushed to the hospital, where it was found out she'd done much worse than she'd thought. Last I heard of her she was still going through physical therapy for her new knees and slowly but surely getting back into swimming."

He tossed the can into a nearby bin, and I gave him a disproving stare in return that he ignored. "Why'd you tell me that?"

I shook my head and fiddled with the sleeve of my jacket, "Idiot." I blushed when his sexy gaze penetrated me (and isn't that word just filled with connotations?) and hurried to explain. "I'm telling you to say that you're not the only person who's gone through an injury. I'm telling you to get it checked out before you fuck it up anymore and no longer can swim. I'm telling you this as a stranger because then you might be able to fucking get it through your Neanderthal skull!" My voice grew in volume until I was nearly shouting by the end and slightly hysterical. "I don't want to see another person crumpled on the ground in pain, or have another person have to do it because they were too stubborn to stop when their body tells them to!"

He looked at me blankly for a moment while I panted, wiping my eyes furiously. I didn't usually get this worked up over strangers and I tried to repress what I saw that winter two years ago. Sometimes though, the wall just breaks.

"Sousuke… Yamazaki Sousuke," he spoke quietly as I collected myself.

"…What?"

"My name: Yamazaki Sousuke. Now the next time I see you, you can't say you're trying to help me out as a stranger by yelling at me," he quipped sardonically as he reached up to rub his shoulder.

"I'm Takashi, Smith Takashi," I sort of felt like James Bond for a minute before my mind went back on track. "And hopefully there won't need to be a next time."

"Heh," he snorted and shook his head, finally turning away from me to walk down the hall. "See you… Takashi."

"Bye Sousuke!" I called after him before heading back in the direction I came from. It was a very weird meeting between us, but I'm thankful that I was able to get it off my chest. I hadn't spoken of the meeting between me and Katie to someone else before and maybe telling someone had helped out.

Or not, I couldn't know.

"Hey Takashi-_chan_," Seijuurou greeted me as I entered the area the team had taken to themselves. Most of the guys were goofing around and eating, though a couple had made makeshift pillows with some towels and fallen asleep, even amongst the rambunctiousness of the others. "Come be my pillow, you're soft."

"You better not be calling me fat, _Mikoshiba_," I growled playfully, even though I knew that I was quite comfortable to sleep on, according to a number of different sources.

"No, no, I'd never call you fat," he winked at me cheekily. "After all, how could you end up with me if you were?"

"I don't know if I should be flattered or offended by the amount of cockiness in that statement," I grumbled under my breath, even as I lay of the ground, a towel resting under my head as Seijuurou settled himself on top of me, his head resting on my stomach in a way that was surprisingly comfortable and basically lying between my legs.

"I like how my cock is one of the first things you think about," he responded, his voice muffled by the yawn he gave before he settled more comfortably on my frame.

"Just go to sleep dumbass," I grouched, ignoring his retort about how "it was a fine ass, thank you very much." Instead I glared at the boys who had turned to watch us in varied forms of fascination. I knew how weird our position was, but I've been used a pillow by various people (not quite like this though, but Seijuurou was much bigger than my other friends and we usually had more space to sprawl out on) and it was comfortable! So I was not going to tolerate weird stares!

Thankfully they all turned away just as Seijuurou began to let out soft snores that only I could hear in the loud pool. I moved my arms slightly so they wouldn't fall asleep while the older teen napped. I yawned as Seijuurou's warmth seeped through my clothing, lulling me to sleep. Deciding that it had been a long enough day, I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around Seijuurou to drift off myself, listening to the sounds of boys jeering, water crashing and soft snores.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Okay, so is anyone else in love with Sousuke, because he's like one of my favourites now - along with Sei and Mako - and he's really freaking sexy. I couldn't help but introduce him earlier in this fic... and the crush, but really, what girl restricts herself to _one _crush? I know I never did (threesomes anyone? hehe, just kidding)... and enough about me, you must all be curious about the story, yes? Well, after this it'll become more lighthearted and more friendship focused.

(And I need to comment on the position of Sei and Taka because it seems really awkward if you don't know what I'm talking about. So you know how in the anime the Samezuka team usually has a section of benches to themselves? Well, that's where they are, in a section of benches, so there isn't a great deal of space to lay on - I would know - so they 'sleep' on each other by lying flat on the ground between the seats and then lying on top of the other in a way that is actually really comfortable... but maybe that's only to me.)

Anyway, thank y'all for favouriting and following my story, as well as _Rakuen91_ (sadly this one isn't too funny) and _NeitherSaneNorInsane_ for reviewing!_  
><em>

¡Gracias mis amigos!

USMCcAnthem


	15. Chapter 14

**14. Happy Birthday Takashi and Buchou!**

"_It's peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time," _I sung obnoxiously in English, dancing around the room that the Samezuka swim club had booked for the night. "Are you guys excited for karaoke?" I laughed even as I blushed from all the attention.

"Not if you actually sing that badly," Seijuurou commented from his languid position on the floor, where he and a number of other swimmers had collapsed the moment we entered the room. "And how the heck do you have so much energy, that practice was _hell_?"

I snickered at the chorus of groans that seconded that statement as I skipped over to Buchou and plopped onto the seat beside him, "buchou went easy on me 'cause my birthday's the same as his." That had actually been a big shock to find out, but that it came with perks was definitely a bonus. "Right buchou?" I asked him with a smile, to which he nodded easily and patted me on the head.

"Correct Takashi-chan," he agreed easily before turning to the – now – protesting boys with an evil smirk (that proceeded crazy training regimens and even harder dry-land exercises) that shut them up in a heartbeat. "Which is exactly why we are here today, so please stop your moping and get up off the floor. None of us acted like that when we celebrated your birthdays."

To clarify for those unaware, the Samezuka Swim Team would celebrate everyone's birthdays in waves. The first wave was in April (the beginning of school) that celebrated those born in February, March and April; the second was in June for those born in May, June and July; the third was in September for August, September and October; and the last – today – was in December, for the remaining months. It was a bit of an odd tradition, but it was mostly started because those were the only times that they were able to take money from the Club budget fairly to book a Banquet Hall nearby, food and a karaoke machine for us all to enjoy.

I snickered at the boys as the quickly stood up and wandered around the room, consequently all in places far from buchou. "Hey buchou, can we get started? I have done karaoke since I was a kid," I sighed in happiness as I remembered fond memories of hanging out with my friends; sadly, the only available karaoke joint where I lived before moving here was in a bar, and thus unreachable by my under-age self.

The others heard what I said and the atmosphere changed with a quickness found only in animes (which I found pretty funny, considering this was real life) as they there suddenly hyped to have fun. "Let's celebrate this properly guys!" Daisuke yelled as he hung off of a taller first year's shoulders so everyone could see him – he was actually the shortest first year, though not the shortest of the club. "We gotta make sure that buchou and Takashi-chan will remember this with _happiness!_ Are you with me?" He pumped his first into the air and the most of the others roared in approval. The remaining swimmers shook their heads at the display, but they were already used to the craziness that often surrounded the club.

"Hey, hey guys," I cut into the cheering and they turned to me quizzically. "Don't forget the others who are celebrating their birthdays!"

A blond second year patted me on the head with a smile while a tan third year boy pinched my cheeks, much to my annoyance. I fixed my ponytail while the others worked themselves up into a fervour while one of the third years moved to man the karaoke machine. "As the guests of honour and the ones who had the easiest work-out today, I believe that either buchou or Takashi-san should go first," he declared to the guys. The general rowdiness of the boys got even worse as buchou and I shared a look.

"How about we do a duet?"

"Which song though?" Buchou asked as we walked up to the book of songs available for us to sing. "Hmm… do you listen to K-Pop?" I blinked up at him bewilderedly but nodded. "Do you think you could do this song?" He pointed down at the paper before us and a smile lit up my face.

"This is going to be awesome."

The third year looked at us in amusement as he flitted through the controls to the song we had selected while we just smirked at each other, picking up our own mics. "Everybody settle down," the guy called out, "I want to hear buchou make a fool out himself while singing k-pop!"

"K-pop?"

"Really? But Buchou can't sing!"

"His singing in the showers suck!"

"This is gonna be bad!" The boys cried as they yelled over each other in an attempt to be heard.

"Um, buchou?" I asked timidly while staring at the boys oddly. "Is your singing really that bad?"

"No," he said with a smirk, "but I always wanted to leave everyone with a bit of a shock." Right, so buchou was pretty scary when he wants to be. Good to know.

Soon the sounds of whistling, snapping and heavy breathing broke through the rambunctious boys as the song started. "1, 2, 3," we called out together and smirked as a heavy beat filled the room. We danced together as we sang back and forth. 'Troublemaker' by Hyuna and Hyunseung was my _jam_, so it didn't even matter if the lyrics were in Korean. Both buchou and I were nailing the song, with our score only growing higher as we continued. By the time we finished, we were both breathing hard, but we'd had a blast.

And buchou managed to shock everyone silent.

It was pretty awesome.

* * *

><p>Hours later everyone was hyped up on cake, candy and pop; there wasn't a person who wasn't laughing or smiling with good cheer. The karaoke machine was still running as people went up over and over to sing some more. Though none had managed to beat mine and buchou's score, but it mattered not as we were having too much fun. I'd done a couple of solos, but had mostly been singing duets with my friends. Seijuurou and I had done the song 'Bromance' to the amusement of everyone else, while Daisuke and I had gone and done the Digimon Adventure 02 opening song as tribute to our names (Daisuke and Takashi are two of the main characters for those unaware).<p>

"Tired?" Seijuurou asked as he plopped himself down in a chair beside mine, stretching out his long legs beside mine.

"Now that you mention it, yeah," I said as a yawn abruptly appeared and I snickered as he soon copied me.

"I must've tired you out," he nodded resolutely, a sleepy smirk on his face as he ran a hand through his red hair.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course, but obviously your stamina is lacking if you are just as tired as I am."

"Urusai*," he bit back, but a yawn stopped him from continuing. "Argh, as fun as today was, I just want to go to sleep. Practice was really hard and buchou has been pushing me harder than usual."

"Maybe he wants to make you captain?"

Seijuurou shot up and was in my face before I knew it. Staring into wide, serious golden eyes, I could do nothing more than blink stupidly. "How did you know that? I thought it was still a secret," he whispered, panicked.

"It was one," I said wryly as I tried not to blush from having him so close to me. He'd placed one knee between my legs to stabilize himself and his arms boxed me in on the chair. "I was just guessing, but now I know otherwise."

His face blanked of any expression, "…Seriously?"

"Seriously."

We were silent for a moment before one of the other swimmers saw us and began to wolf whistle, catching the attention of the others. Seijuurou (the ass) acted like nothing was wrong as he moved back to his original seat beside me while I hung my head as a blush spread voraciously across my cheeks. At times like this, I really hated him.

"Ah cheer up, Takashi-_chan_," Seijuurou nudged me playfully, "at least now you can say that you got up close and personal with me when I become famous."

"Go suck dick," I snapped, but a small smile played on my lips when he tossed his head back and laughed. Instead of letting him know, I shook my head and rested my head on his shoulder, "Urusai baka, just let me sleep." He was tense for a few minutes before relaxing. I was pretty used to that, as I had used his shoulder for a pillow a couple times before and he'd done that every time.

Soon a head rested on mine and a body leaned against my legs. I smiled as I felt myself being surrounded by the people I cared for and decided that this was one of my favourite birthday parties I'd ever had and I didn't even get any presents.

* * *

><p><em>*<em>Urusai: shut up

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Thank you to _Rakuen91, __MikomiCosplay, NeitherSaneNorInsane, Anime1Freak _and _TheDroidsYoureLookingFor_ for reviewing, you guys are awesome and amazing! Also thank you to those who have favourited and followed this.

It's been a bad day (but these guys make it better),

USMCcAnthem


	16. Chapter 15

**15. Graduation of Takao… wait, who?**

_"__Aren't you excited?"_ I heard a girl whisper to her friend.

_"__Of course!"_ The other answered gleefully. _"How can I not be? School's almost finished!"_

_"__Hey,"_ a boy who sat in front of me whispered, _"have you heard that a senior broke down crying yesterday? She was so sad to leave high school that she couldn't take it."_

_ "__Yeah, and apparently it started a chain reaction through the others." _Another boy added, _"There wasn't a dry eye in the room."_

I sighed as I listened to the various gossip whips around the room, centered mostly on the upcoming end of the school year and the graduation of our senpai. I wasn't as happy about it as my peers, especially since it meant that my senpai at Samezuka were going to be leaving as well. Buchou was going to be graduating! The guy who was the first one to accept me; the guy who helped me out even when I declared I didn't need it; the guy who cared for me like I cared for him. Needless to say, I wasn't very excited about this prospect.

"Settle down class," my homeroom teacher called, trying to bring order to the class. "Enough chat, I need quiet for roll call."

The class slowly but surely calmed down, and I let my head rest on the palm of my hand as I gazed over the window. It was going to be a long day.

…It was the Senior Swim-Off today, after all.

* * *

><p>I panted heavily as I pulled myself out of the pool, having just finished my race against buchou. Even though he'd already gone multiple times, he was still as fast as ever and I could just barely match him. And even then he had beaten me quite soundly. "Better luck next time Taka-" Daisuke tried to console me, but interrupted when a senior patted him roughly on the head.<p>

"Shut it kouhai, and let her cry in peace," the dark haired teen said roughly with a wide smirk.

I flipped him off from the fetal position I had found myself in the moment I had sat down. Buchou was a monster, no doubt about that. The dark haired senior snickered and walked away, leaving me in depression and Daisuke with a considering expression. Knowing my friend like I do, I decided to ignore whatever he was thinking about. If it involved me, I would find out soon enough.

"Pfft, weakling," Seijuurou mocked me, placing his large hand on my silicone covered head. "No stamina at all," he shook his head pityingly while I stared up at him stoically.

"Just because you're a monster like buchou doesn't mean you can brag," I deadpanned. "Actually, you should just go stand in a corner so that I don't get your germs!"

"Awe Takashi-_chan_, don't be jealous. Just because green looks good on you doesn't mean you should act like that." He patted my head once more before he walked away to talk with a couple of the other second years that had already swam for the day and were dying on the side.

"I hate that guy," I said monotonously as I followed him with my eyes, mentally commanding him to drop dead.

"Obviously your definition of hate is much different than mine… Taka-chan," Daisuke joked and pushed me lightly to the side. I had to move from my comfortable position to stop from falling over, shocked from both the nickname and the shove.

"Eh, Taka-chan?"

"Hmm, yeah, what do you think of it?" Daisuke asked as he leaned into my personal space. "Everybody calls you Takashi-chan, and you're the only person to call me Daisuke, so I thought that you deserved a nickname. And Taka's pretty cool, 'cause it's like you're a hawk or something." He spread his warms wide and mimicked a bird flying, causing me to giggle at his antics.

"Eh, it's alright." I turned my face away from him to hide the blush that I knew was spreading across my cheeks, making it seem like I was interested in the racing going on. "It's just that no one has ever given me a nickname before, besides my family, so it's kind of cool."

Daisuke pulled me into a side hug, and I blushed even more as he rubbed our cheeks together. "Awe! Taka-chan is so _cute~_" He cooed.

Before I could deign to tell him off for acting like an idiot, I was pulled from Daisuke and into a standing position by a strong, firm hand. "Now, now Kazama-kun, don't go touching things that don't belong to you," Seijuurou chided the younger boy playfully. When I saw a shudder rack across Daisuke's frame, I wondered if maybe Daisuke was talking his over reacting thing too far. But then again, sometimes it's better to just let things just happen when it comes to Daisuke.

"I am not an object _Mikoshiba_," I drawled out his last name teasingly, and I could tell he noticed from the smirk that he now sported on his face. "And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't belong to you, if I was."

"Of course you would _Smith_," he drawled out my last name, and my eyes widened when he actually pronounced it properly. I broke free from his grasp and instead took both his hands to cradle them in mine as I gazed up at him in awe.

"You actually got it right!" I exclaimed in glee, hugging his hands close to my body. "I can't believe it!"

"You better believe it," Seijuurou said back confidently. However before he could say anything else, one of my senpai dropped his hand on my head and led me in the direction of the pool, where buchou was waiting at the blocks.

"Enough of your flirting kouhai!" He barked out, and I realized it was the same guy who had made fun of me earlier. I fumed silently as he ranted at me, "I have had enough of your daily romance act! You never give us senpai enough respect and are way too loud for your own good! So now you have to race Takao-san again as penance!" He pushed me to the block while a big question floated around my head.

_Who the heck is Takao-san?_

"Hey Takashi-chan, sorry about him" buchou apologized, his breathing slightly heavy, obviously beginning to show some results of the long practice. "Sometimes he gets a little hyped up."

_Wait…_ "You're Takao?" I asked in wonder, my eyes wide.

"Huh?" Buchou asked perplexed. "Of course I am."

"I didn't know that," I muttered under my breath, flushing.

"Really Takashi-chan? I'm hurt," he mocked a pouted that actually looked more hilarious than pitiful. He really wasn't a pouting type of guy, and it showed. "What did you think my name was? Buchou?" I laughed awkwardly, not willing to answer that question. After all, how do you admit to a person that you really thought their name was _buchou_ of all things?

"Never mind, I'm just not used to people calling you anything else but buchou," I lied through my teeth.

"Uh-huh," he cocked an eyebrow in disbelief but let me get away with the lie. "Okay then, let's get started. I still have ten more of these things to do."

I laughed and adjusted my goggles, "Then let's go."

We shared a smirk and dived into the pool together at the sound of the whistle to begin yet another race together.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, the school year was over and I was helping Seijuurou pack up his stuff up. We had a three weeks break before school started up again, and both of us were looking forward to having no school. "Why didn't you tell me?" I hissed at him as I packed up his books into a box. "I almost made a fool out of myself!"<p>

"How was I supposed to know that you didn't know his name?" Seijuurou demanded, as he took down the various pictures he had placed on the wall. "You followed him like an adorable puppy! I thought you knew!"

"And we both know what happens when you assume," I snapped back, remembering when I had assumed something before. He didn't respond as we continued to pack away his things in silence. We worked quickly and efficiently until his side of the room was empty and his bed was striped to the mattress.

"…I'm sorry."

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye as we stood awkwardly beside each other.

"I just, well, I was embarrassed that I didn't know, okay?" I admitted sheepishly. "You're right, I did follow him like a puppy. Buchou, Takao-kun, whatever I call him, is the shit! And without him, I would never have been on the team."

He was silent, and I wondered if I had been ruder than I thought, but he eventually sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry so much Takashi-_chan_," he mocked me, though it held a tone of sincerity to it, "you might get wrinkles and I just couldn't stand that."

I shook my head and relaxed into his side, "Yeah, yeah, don't get your knickers in a twist."

"Who the fuck says 'knickers' anymore?"

"Oh, _screw you_."

He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Anytime Takashi-_chan,_ anytime."

"…Just, shut up." I sighed and pushed his arm off my shoulder with a sad shake of my head. That guy, _honestly_.

* * *

><p><em>TBC<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Yo everyone! Today is a good day for another chapter, yes? You got one more chapter my peeps until I hit canon! And that chapter is already hosting some interesting guest appearances - as well as some Mama Smith deviousness - so I hope you guys will like it. (And this chapter too, now that I think about it...) Anyway, what do you guys think about buchou's name? I have this image in my mind of Takao-buchou being this (amazing) older brother figure to Taka-chan and it kind of ran away from me (_gomen minna_). And even though he's graduated, don't expect him to disappear! Hmm... Oh, yes, umm, so I made some character information (you know how they have a basic information chart on an anime wiki? Like that, but only containing the basics) for my three main OC's and if you want to see it, let me know and I'll post in with the next chapter.

But enough with that, I have some people I want to thank. _TheDroidsYoureLookingFor _and _NeitherSaneNorInsane_, thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter. Also to those who follow or have favourited this, thank you kindly. You guys are all awesome!

じゃあね！

USMCcAnthem


	17. Chapter 16

**16. My Mama and Me**

I was violently jerked from sleep as my phone vibrated on my bedside table. I reached blindly for it, fumbling with the slim flip phone before finally opening the evil contraption. "'Ello?" I croaked into the phone before yawning.

_"__This is Takashi, right?" _A smooth, deep, male voice asked.

"Uh-huh," I agreed tiredly, not really awake enough to worry about the fact that a man, who I'm pretty sure I don't know, had my phone number and knew who I was. "Who's this?"

_"__Sousuke, you know, the stranger you yelled at in Nationals?"_

I blinked stupidly for a second before bolting upright in bed. "What? How the heck did you get my number?" I demanded, throwing back my covers to stagger out of bed, tossing on my robe as I went.

"_Well, I looked up all the Smith's near Samezuka Gakuen, and got your mom. She gave me your number when I asked," _he admitted without the slightest hint of shame. _"You should probably talk to her about that. I could've been a murderer or a rapist for all she knew." _

I groaned in annoyance as I entered the kitchen to see my mom staring at me smugly. "This is your fault," I said to her, pointing at her in annoyance. She just stuck her tongue out at me and continued to eat her breakfast.

_"__My fault? How is it my fault?"_

"Not you," I answered back, rolling my eyes at my dad when he looked at me questioningly. It was one of those odd days when all three of us were at home, so it was obvious that we were going to spend it lazing around the house. "I was talking to my mom. Though I guess you're partially at fault, as you asked her for my number in the first place." My mom's eyes lit up as I grabbed a cup of yogurt out of the fridge, and I cringed slightly. That was never a good sign.

"_I just wanted to say thanks,"_ he didn't sound very thankful, but I guessed it to be a default tone with him. I wouldn't know, after all I'd only met him once before. "_I went to physiotherapy and they said if I had waited any longer I could've done some serious damage to my shoulder."_

"I'm glad to hear that the advice of a stranger still works," I commented drily as I watched my mom lean forward, trying to hear what Sousuke was saying. I ate my yogurt and leant against the fridge smugly, ignoring the island where my parents sat. Like hell was I letting her meddle… again.

He made a sound of derision and I snorted at the response. Guys sometimes, I shook my head and finished off my yogurt before eying my mom warily as I continued the conversation. "So that's it, huh?"

_ "__Yes, that's it," _Sousuke said arrogantly. _"I'm not going to go into dogeza and thank you humbly." _I tried to picture a tall, imposing guy with broad shoulders and beautiful turquoise eyes bowing to me, but it didn't quite fit.

"Yeah, I don't really see you doing that," I admitted. "But that wasn't what I meant."

I could almost hear him roll his eyes, _"Whatever."_

_ "_But forget about that, how the heck did you know that I lived near Samezuka?" I asked as I remembered what he said earlier. I sure as hell didn't mention it.

_"…__You were wearing a Samezuka Gakuen Track Jacket," _his voice was very droll and I blushed in both embarrassment and anger. Bastard was making me feel like an idiot. _"Where else would you be?" _

"How do you even remember that?" I wondered aloud. "I don't even remember much about you but your eyes, name and shoulder."

_"__Seriously?"_ He drawled, and I could literally hear the sardonic amusement behind the word. Bastard.

"What's wrong with that? It just means I looked you in the eye. Not everyone looks at the others chest the moment they see them." And that was where he would have to look, I realized, if he was to be able to tell which school I went to. So he's not only a bastard, but a pervert too.

I attract such odd males to me.

Only buchou is not included in that statement.

He just scoffed in annoyance. _"Enough of this, I'm done with what I needed to tell you."_

I rolled my eyes at the pure arrogance that rippled off his words. "Yeah, yeah, see you another time Sousuke."

_"__Be sure not to yell at me next time," _he reminded me drily before hanging up.

I sighed and shut the phone, staring at it in annoyance before looking up to meet my parents' curious eyes.

"So…" My mom began with a mischievous smile, "When am I getting some grandbabies?"

"MOM!" The spit take my dad did totally wasn't worth the blush that lit up my cheeks.

* * *

><p>One of my favourite things to do with my mom is grocery shopping. It was more fun when were back in Canada, as we would buy for two weeks instead of just a couple of days, but we still managed to enjoy it. "Hey musume, can you grab some carrots?" My mom asked my distractedly as she walked towards the onions. "I think we should have some curry, but we're all out."<p>

I nodded and walked towards the carrots where I spotted someone familiar. "Tachibana-kun?" I asked, wondering if I was correct. My face began to overheat as the taller male turned around to smile at me.

"Takashi-san?" Makoto asked gently. "How are you doing? Enjoying the holidays?"

I nodded with a smile as I tried to stop my hands from shaking as I reached for the carrots, taking the plastic bag he handed me with a simple tilt of my head. "I'm doing fine and the holidays have been pretty relaxing as I finally don't have practice. How about you?" God, our conversation was so stilted.

"Good, good. I've been hanging out with Haru and my siblings most of the time, but today my mom needed me to go shopping."

"You have siblings? How many?" I felt his arm brush against mine as we both reached for another carrot and nearly jumped out of my skin. Damn, stupid body and its reactions!

"Only two: Ren and Ran. They're both still in elementary school, but I like to take care of them." His smile softened further and I was in awe of how… content he looked. Honestly, could the guy get anymore attractive? Or is he just trying to kill me with his good looks?

"You sound like a good older brother," I commented wistfully. I'd always wanted an older brother and I liked to think that Takao-buchou acted like one to me.

"Do you have any siblings?" He questioned politely and I shook my head.

"Nah, I'm an only child. My parents were happy with just one," I looked over my shoulder to check on my mom, only to see her ducking quickly behind a sign. I sighed, "I'm happy that they did, if they had anymore, they would've corrupted them with their weirdness."

"But you turned out fine, so your parents can't be that bad," Makoto pointed out and I blushed at the indirect compliment. Though if he knew me better he wouldn't be saying such a thing. Heck, Sousuke knows me less than Makoto and even he knows I'm a weirdo (though given how we met, there might be a good reason behind that).

"You just don't know me well enough yet, or you would be singing a different tune." Makoto just smiled serenely and shook his head. "Well, I've gotten what I came for, so I best be heading back to my mom before she gets kicked out of the store for stalking two teenagers." I said this drily as I looked back to where my mom had ducked behind the sign once more, gaining the attention of some of the other shoppers. My reasons to leave my also include the fact that my face was beginning to resemble that of a tomato than a human face. "I'll see you when school starts again."

"It was nice talking to you Takashi-san." Ever the polite boy, he was. God, I was dying from his good boy personality; he's too good to be real sometimes.

"You too Tachibana-kun!" I then high tailed it back to my mom and proceeded tripped three times on the way, making a right fool of myself.

"So…" my mom started suggestively as she took the bag of carrots from me, not mentioning that I had gotten one too many. "He was handsome, hmm?"

I just groaned and covered my cheeks with my hands. "Let's not go there."

"You just want to dash all my hopes of ever getting grandbabies, don't you?" My mom mock pouted.

"I love you mom, but please, shut up."

"Whatever you say honey." She said patronizingly and I couldn't help but laugh. Annoying though she was, I still loved her and wouldn't trade her for the world.

* * *

><p>The rest of the break passed by in a similar fashion; I'd wake up, get teased by my mother, hang out with Seijuurou (mostly) and Daisuke (when we were both willing to take the time to commute) and occasionally swapping (not really) spiteful texts with Sousuke to break up the monotony. However, soon it was all at an end and it was time to start up school once more.<p>

I was determined to make this a great year. Seijuurou was captain of the team, so I don't doubt that it will be even more fun to tease him continually and play around with the new first years! It will be awesome to spend another year swimming with my boys. And maybe, just maybe, I might be able to have a conversation with Makoto without blushing.

Though I very much doubted that last one.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

The ending to this chapter was weak and I had this extra scene plotted out in my mind (and in my word document) but I felt like I was pushing it a little too much, so I cut it out. Anyway...

CANON! CANON! CANON! Are you excited? 'Cause I am. I've already started the next chapter (more because I need to make sure I actually _start _canon before I go any further) and lord, it's a piece of work. I can't wait to introduce Nagisa, Rei and Gou, they are _awesome!_ And then there will be more MakoTaka awkward moments (just what will Sei do?) and HaruH2O moments... and well, who knows what else?_  
><em>

_AND... _Thank you to those who have favourited/followed this, you guys rock. Also, I give my best to _NeitherSaneNorInsane, Rakuen91 _and_ Forgetful Insanity_ for reviewing, y'all are brill!

Cheers mates,

USMCcAnthem

(P.S. if you guys want to see Momo and Takashi meeting for the first time, leave a review and I'll post it up next chapter as an omake!)

(P.P.S. Sorry for the lack of SeiTaka moments guys!)


	18. Omake 2

**Omake: Meeting Momotarou**

"Hide me!" I whispered urgently to Seijuurou as I spotted him with his – what I guessed to be – little brother. My parents had a day off and we had gone to the busier district nearby to go shopping, though my dad was reluctant to go (he was a healthy, red blooded male going shopping with two females, it was no surpise that he was rather unwilling). However my parents had decided to take the time to tease me as much as they could. As such I had decided that fleeing was the best course of action.

That I had seen Seijuurou before doing so had no part in my decision.

"What?" Seijuurou asked and tried to turn around, but I wrapped my arms around his middle to stop him from turning around.

"_Shh!" _I shushed him harshly and I lowered my voice when I continued after tossing a glance around us. "Don't act so suspicious!"

"You're the only one acting suspicious here," Seijuurou deadpanned and I blushed at the truth of the statement. I released him, even though he was really warm compared to the chilly temperature of the streets, and moved to stand between him and his – supposed – brother.

Though I couldn't let him know that he had gotten one over on me. "Just because you were right doesn't mean you can sass me," I warned and the boy beside me snickered. "Oh, and it's nice to meet you. I'm Sumisu Takashi."

The boy, with orange hair and mischievous golden eyes that sparkled, smiled widely at me. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Mikoshiba Momotarou and I like to collect stag beetles!" He sprouted off enthusiastically. He moved from my side to stand before me with his hands thrown wide in excitement, "I also like fried eggs and vongole pasta!"

I chuckled lightly as Seijuurou grabbed his brother in a headlock and gave him a rough noogie. "Idiot, stop telling girls random facts about yourself, it's not attractive."

"Argh, _nii-san_!" Momotarou cried in distress as he tried to wriggle out of his older brother's hold.

"Awe, don't be so mean to your little brother Seijuurou," I chided the older, taller boy with a pout. Then I turned to Momotarou with a sweet smile, "And I happen to enjoy clams with pasta as well."

"He never said clams," Seijuurou pointed out as he released his little brother from the death trap known as his arms. It was terribly adorable how they both cocked their heads to the side in the same manner.

"'_Vongole'_ is the plural form of '_vongola'_, which means 'clam' in Italian," I stated knowledgably. Before I could continue being a smart-aleck, my parents appeared behind me.

"AH!" I yelled, clinging to the closest thing to me, which happened to be Momotarou. "Don't scare me like that!" I chastised them as I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart. With obvious ease of practice both my parents ignored me to talk to Seijuurou. I blinked as my mom fawned over him and my dad tried 'bonding'. Soon the meaning as to why became clear as my parents began to pull the older boy away from us to talk some more. "Wait, Seijuurou, don't let them take you!" I tried warning the teen, but I was ignored as my mom dragged the two males in the opposite direction of us.

"Well, that was strange," I commented idly as I finally loosened my grip on the dazed teen. Momotarou, however, was just as sharp as his brother and was soon back to normal and laughing uproariously.

"Serves him right for teasing me like that!" He crowed, "And now I finally get to talk to the girl he always speaks of."

"He speaks of me?"

"Yup, all the time," Momotarou admitted with a sly grin. "He never shuts up about you, though I can understand why now that I've met you."

"Oh?" I shot him a questioning look as we decided to amble in the direct my parents had dragged Seijuurou off to.

Momotarou nodded and tried to wrap an arm around my shoulders, however being shorter than me, it made for a difficult feat. So instead he just wrapped his arm around my upper back. "You're very cute~" He admitted with a blush lighting up his cheeks and sparkles in his eyes. "And you know how to take a joke!"

I blushed slightly and waved off his compliments, "Awe shucks, you're making me blush." He preened a bit and I laughed at him, though not in a malicious manner; he's absolutely adorkable; yes, he was a_dork_able, there's no other way to describe him. "So, as a brother, you're sure to know a lot of embarrassing stories…" I prodded him with all the subtly of a rhinoceros in a tutu.

"Oh yeah, I know loads!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. "There was this one time when he dressed up in my kaa-chan's clothing and make-up – kaa-chan has photos – and I remember when we were younger he'd always sing and dance around the house in his underwear, like in that American movie? Actually…" Momotarou paused, placing a finger to his lower lip in thought, "I think he _still _does that."

I giggled as I pictured the proud and outgoing Seijuurou dancing around in a white button down shirt and briefs while singing into a hairbrush. It only made me laugh more. "Tell me more." I demanded as I latched onto the pleased Momotarou's arm.

It was a half hour later that my parents and Seijuurou found us, swapping stories and anecdotes of our childhood. We were laughing uproariously and many people who walked past us look at us funny, but neither of us cared.

"Takashi?" My dad asked as we stopped for a breath, startling me.

"EH? Dad?" I shouted as I hugged Momotarou to my chest accidentally. Now, I'm not a very touchy-feely person by nature, but Momotarou didn't hit any of my danger senses. Also, he was adorkable and deserved love. "What's with the looks?" I asked as I saw the way they were looking at me and Momotarou.

"Yeah, why are you looking at us so funny?" Momotarou asked as he twisted in my grip to stare at his brother and my parents.

"You are acting weird little bro," Seijuurou stated. "Laughing like idiots together in the middle of a busy area. Beside you are acting like best friends, even though you just met."

"Don't be jealous nii-chan," Momotarou taunted his brother as he stepped out of my hold to wave his hands around grandly as he declared, "Me an' Takashi are just Sags."

"Sags? Is that some slang for sex buddies?" My mom asked bluntly as she narrowed her eyes at me. I could tell that she was internally laughing though, so I didn't panic like I usually would if she were to ask that question. "Because I'd prefer you to get married before you start popping out them grandbabies, musume."

"No mom, it means Sagittarius'," I corrected her. "It means we're awesome and must be around each other to bask in each other's awesomeness."

Seijuurou's eyes lit up as if remembering something before he slumped forward. "This is going to be a lot like you and buchou, isn't it?"

"Yup," I agreed before grinning widely. "'Cept it might be just a tad more awesome – just a tad, as very little is more awesome than buchou – because we can tell fun stories about _you._"

My mom laughed, with Momotarou and I joining in a second later while my dad and Seijuurou stood awkwardly on the sidelines. Usually Seijuurou would be right there with me, but since we were laughing at his expense, I allowed him a bye for the day.

"…I'm screwed, aren't I?" I distantly heard Seijuurou ask and turned to see my dad pat him on the back.

"With my daughter involved, there is no other outcome." With the way he said that with pride, I could tell he was _very _happy that I was going to be tormenting the red head. And with the way Seijuurou's shoulders slumped forward, he knew it too.

Now all I needed to do was get Momotarou's phone number and the world will never know what hit it!

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Momo and Taka are BFFs, and I find them hilarious together... though Momo still has a puppy crush on her (which is so cute (I would write adorable, but I feel like it's been written too much so far... I blame Momo for being too awesome.)) and Taka is horrible in not discouraging it. She also knows too much about the poor boy, but for some reason, that him more awesome in her eyes.

Thank you for following/favouriting and _MikomiCosplay, NeitherSaneNorInsane _and _Guest _for reviewing and asking for this chapter. I tried to make this a little more humorous for you - as it _was _originally a part of the last chapter, but chopped for various reasons - and I hope you liked it!

Expect the next chapter soon and be prepared for the canon debute!

USMCcAnthem


	19. Chapter 17

**17. Enter Iwatobi Swim Club**

I liked to think that the world was against me on many occasions, however I have never felt that it has ever been truer than in this moment. It had been a week since the start of the school year and already it was off to a great start (and that really should've tipped me off). I had attended the first week's practices, joked around with my boys and managed to actually _win_ an innuendo war with Seijuurou (which hasn't happened in months). I was in class 2-A in school with Makoto… and Nanase-kun too. I hadn't tripped – yet – or made a fool of myself. There was no teasing or bullying.

It was perfect. I should've known better.

What caused this change you might ask? Well, it all started on Friday when I met with the Samezuka Swim Club teacher advisor, Sugimoto-san.

_*Flashback*_

_ "__Hey Takashi_-chan_," Seijuurou called out to me as I readied to hop into the pool. I walked over to him with a perplexed frown. It was very unlike him to stop me from swimming, especially since we were going to be having our first joint swim practice (the first and second years usually practiced together, while the third years had a slightly modified schedule). "The club advisor wants to see you."_

_I frowned as I walked to the – usually – empty office that was just off of the pool. I couldn't think of a reason as to why he would need to see me. I knocked on the door politely and entered without waiting for a response. _

_The man behind the desk was moderately attractive, for an older man – he pulled those glasses and slicked back hair off well. Though the look he gave me kind of freaked me out as I remembered that I was only clad in a bathing suit. _

_ "__Seijuurou said you wanted to see me, sir," I started off the conversation as I stood awkwardly in front of the desk the man sat behind._

_ "__Yes, and I'm sorry to say that this might be a disappointing conversation for you Sumisu-chan," he started off easily, fiddling with a piece of paper on his desk. "But the thing is… well, read this for yourself."_

_I took the paper from his grasp and skimmed over the words. My face paled with each word I read, and I had to go back and read it thoroughly to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. "Is this a joke?" I asked quietly as I turned to stare at the man before me who had just changed my entire world in a matter of minutes._

_ "__I'm sorry," was all he could say and I had to blink to stop the room from blurring (I had no idea why it would do that)._

_ "__Okay, okay," I took deep breaths and handed the paper back, ignoring how my hand was shaking. "I guess I'll have to break the news to everyone, huh?"_

_The advisor stood from his desk and came around to pat me on the shoulder. "Don't worry over it Sumisu-san, I'll take care of it after practice."_

_ "__I… thank you."_

_His look was very sympathetic as he smiled sadly at me, "No need, it's the only thing I can do now."_

_I nodded and walked back out the door, placing my goggles securely over my eyes to make sure no one was able to see the distress in my eyes. After all… today would be the last day I would be allowed to swim with the Samezuka Swim Club._

_*End Flashback*_

Apparently, as my own school was starting up its own swim club, I was no long allowed to swim with Samezuka. _'They had been lenient' _the letter from my school principal had said, _'to allow [me] to swim with another school.' _That I had been _'lucky_' to be allowed to swim with Samezuka, and that they could've '_pulled [me] from the team at any time'_. And they had the right to, I knew, as the school monitors what you d after school. You get a job then you have to tell administration and they'll let you know if you're allowed or not. Grades start dropping and they ask you to quit.

It's the same with sports and other activities after school. I really _was _lucky that they had allowed me to stay on the other school's team, considering I had never asked them for permission. But I wasn't exactly happy with it and neither was the rest of the team. By the time Sugimoto had finished telling everyone of what would happen, all the second and third year students suffocated me in a group hug. I was in tears by the end of it, but thankfully Seijuurou had made a promise to me that he would try to get our clubs to practice together and that I would be able to visit them whenever I wanted. (There was a sneaky handing of the club schedule to me from Daisuke when he tackled me into another hug. I don't know where he got it from, and I didn't really want to know, but I was thankful all the same.)

While depressed, I was glad that I wasn't about to lose my friends. I don't think I could've handled that.

* * *

><p>A couple days after my forced resignation from the Samezuka Academy swim club, I was found in a hallway at school with my phone blowing up with various texts from my friends. Though I had resented the idea of joining another, rival club – I had loyalty after all – I had been persuaded to join the new Iwatobi club by Daisuke and Seijuurou; both of whom declared that they would be personally insulted if I didn't try to race against them in an official meet. This led me to watch as a short, enthusiastic blond waved his arms around in an attempt to draw the attention of those around him. He talked animatedly about the brand new swim club and I could see him dragging in a crowd. Yet I also could tell that not a single one of those were interested in joining; they didn't even have a pool to swim in (damn cheap ass administration)! I continued to watch as person after person left the blond to go on their way to their class or cafeteria or wherever they decided was better than being with the loud first year.<p>

And as I watched his shoulders slump forward in desolation as each and every person walked on by him, I couldn't help but feel for him.

Maybe it was because he reminded me too much of Daisuke or maybe it was because I wanted to keep my promise to Samezuka, but I couldn't stop myself from walking up to him; taking the first step to becoming a new member.

"Hello," I greeted him with a warmth that I couldn't hide. He really did remind me of Daisuke. "Are females allowed to join the team as well? As swimmers, I mean." I had to clarify, as I had heard rumours that they already had a female manager, and I wanted to do so much more than _manage_.

The blond perked up, his magenta eyes (they were so odd, yet strangely beautiful and almost… _cunning_) nearly sparkling. "Really? You want to join?" I nodded at him with an amused smile. "Great! Come on, follow me to meet the others!" He chirped as he latched onto my arm with a surprisingly strong grip for one so small and dragged me off in the direct of… my classroom?

"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Guess what?" The blond exclaimed as he burst into my classroom where a couple of my classmates were sitting eating their lunch.

"Nagisa-chan?" Makoto asked in surprise, clenching the fabric above his heart, obviously startled by the exuberant first year. "Wait… what are you doing with Takashi-san?" For some reason it didn't surprise me that the two of them were apart of the club. From what I remembered during my infrequent talks with Nanase-kun, he was a huge water enthusiast with an obsession with swimming free.

"She wants to join the club as our fourth member!" He stated as he pushed me forward. I tripped – as per usual when in the presence of Makoto – and was stopped from falling by two large strong hands.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry," I said flustered as I jumped away from Makoto as if scolded by burning water. "I hate that I'm so clumsy," I mumbled under my breath with a blush.

"Awe, don't worry about it Taka-chan," Nagisa – which I gathered was his name from what Makoto had called out earlier – said consolingly. With the new nickname, he only increased the resemblance that he had to Daisuke in my mind. "Being clumsy isn't bad, so long as you're graceful in the water."

It would've comical how Nanase-kun seemed to perk up at the mention of water, but I was still too embarrassed to notice much. And yet, as I watched the three of them interact, I couldn't help but feel that I hadn't left the craziness of Samezuka behind like I had thought.

In fact, it seemed like I had only traded one brand of crazy for another.

* * *

><p><em>TBC...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Here be plot twists! - USMCcAnthem


	20. Chapter 18

**18. Gou the Girl**

The first time I met Gou, I was helping fix the pool with Makoto and Nanase-kun (Nagisa needed to stay after class to clean up and had told us to go ahead without him). I'd been caught up with patching up the pool wall, which was littered with various cracks from disuse and being open to the elements, when the red haired girl came onto the deck.

"Hey guys, I have snacks!" She called, and I turned to see her swinging a plastic bag back and forth tauntingly. Following the guys to the shallow end so that we could hop out of the pool, I stumbled over a tool (don't ask me the specific names, I don't do handyman stuff besides when I have to or am watching Holmes on Homes) and fell... of course.

"Are you okay Takashi-san?" Makoto inquired as he rushed over to me, his big (adorable) olive green eyes begging me to say yes. I nodded as I pushed myself onto my knees and rubbed at my tender nose.

"I'm fine," I reassured him when he still seemed to be worried. It was cute, but I admit it was slightly annoying that he thought I would be hurt from such a minor fall. I smiled up at him regardless of my irritation and took his offered hand to help me up. The soft smile that spread across his face soothed my irritation instantly, especially paired with the strong hand that was still clasped around mine. I stopped a blush from spreading across my cheeks and released his hand, stepping away with a nod to look at the two others in the vicinity. Nanase-kun was staring at me intensely (does he stare in any other way?) as though I were a puzzle he needed to solve, or destroy, to make himself feel better. Gou – bless her soul – was completely clueless about what had happened.

"Taka-chan," Gou waved at me with a bright smile. The younger girl had been extremely enthusiastic to find that she wouldn't be the only girl on the team and had taken to calling her by the nickname that Nagisa (and Daisuke) had given her. Considering her annoyance, bordering on dislike, of the blond I had been surprised at the adaption. "I don't know why you insist on helping, it's obviously dangerous." Gou shook her head at me as I climbed the ladder in the shallow end to get out of the empty pool. "It's a guys job."

I shook my head, "If my mom heard you say that, she'd start off on a rant. She'd a total feminist when it suits her." I laughed as I remembered the times she'd ranted at dad for trying 'to be a real man' by doing random bits of construction back in Canada. My mom had grown up in a small town, the type where most of the kids grew up on farms and each member had their own chores to do. She'd been cleaning out barns when my dad was still climbing bridges and running away from trains… yeah, those are my role models in life, so what?

Gou laughed, "She sounds like an interesting person." I just nodded solemnly as I looked at the selections she'd picked.

"You have Pocket Sweat!" I cheered as I took the can and cradled it to my chest. My mom detested the stuff, claiming that it was too expensive even though the stuff she bought was twice as costly. "And taro mochi…" I looked at Gou with wide eyes, "You are my new best friend."

Gou giggled at me while Nanase-kun and Makoto looked at me incredulously. "You'll be my friend too, but not my best one because that's reserved for Hana-chan," she reached up and patted my head consolingly.

I mock sighed, "Drat, that means I have to keep Daisuke and Seijuurou as my best friends."

"You have two guys as best friends?" Gou tilted her head to the side, her hair drifting with her. I envied her for her long hair as mine only reached my shoulders; any longer and I was liable to go mad. Didn't mean that I didn't like the look of long hair though.

"Yeah, the two of them are pretty awesome, even though I originally hated Seijuurou. I'm just thankful that Buchou put up with our shit or we would never have become close." I thought back with mirth at our first meeting, and subsequent in-depth knowledge of the red heads body. "Me and Daisuke always got along though."

"Really?" Gou asked as the boys drifted away from us in boredom. Makoto and Nanase-kun already knew a bit about my friends outside of the school, having heard my rather vulgar conversation with Seijuurou that one time, and the occasional – inappropriate – calls that Daisuke would make to me during class (when he coincidentally had lunch).

I nodded, feeling odd. Was this what it was like to be friends with a girl? A girl who wanted to be friends with me not to learn more about a different culture, but because they want to know me? I think I like it.

And so I gossiped for the next two hours instead of working with Makoto and Nanase-kun.

…Totally worth it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Short, un-edited, but a chapter. This my apology for not posting in a while, and for probably not posting again until the holidays (midterms and finals should never be taken lightly). And just for those that want a time frame - since I won't be typing up each chapter verbatim - this is during episode two just before they open the pool, but after the whole drama of Haru and Rin's first race.

Good luck with life peeps!

USMCcAnthem


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